The government exceeded its target for skills bootcamps starts last year – including for HGV drivers, according to new data.
Department for Education figures published this morning shows 16,120 people started one of the free, 12-to-16-week courses between April 2021 and March 2022 against a target of 16,000.
Of those starts, 4,740 were on HGV driving bootcamps. The DfE had aimed to train 3,000 new HGV drivers through skills bootcamps to tackle the national shortage of haulage drivers.
However, today’s release has no data on how many of the starters completed their programme or what their outcomes were.
There is also no information on skills bootcamp learners’ characteristics, such as their gender. Previous FE Week analysis found that the flagship skills bootcamps policy was only funding sectors heavily dominated by men.
