The department does not hold the requested data.

In the 2020/21 academic year, there were 510 apprenticeship starts in Sefton Central constituency. Data for the full 2021/22 academic year is not yet available, but partial year data shows that between August 2021 and April 2022, 460 apprenticeship starts were reported. These statistics are based on the home postcode of the learner. The department does not publish based on business location.

Further statistics covering apprenticeships can be found in the department’s apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.

Employers in the engineering and manufacturing route have designed 148 apprenticeship standards to meet their skills needs, and there are a further 17 in development.

Apprenticeship starts in the engineering and manufacturing technologies sector increased by 2.2% in the 2020/21 academic year on the previous year, and now make up 14.7% of all apprenticeship starts

The department wants to continue to improve and grow apprenticeships so more employers and individuals can benefit from them, including those within the engineering and manufacturing sectors. We are making apprenticeships more flexible by encouraging the use of more flexible training models including front-loaded training which is being successfully used within the engineering and manufacturing sector. We are also supporting employers to make greater use of their levy and improving the transfers process, so that unspent funds can more easily support apprenticeships in both larger companies and SMEs.

The department is working with the Apprenticeships in Manufacturing (AiM) group, which includes industry partners such as Make UK, Enginuity, and the UK Metals Council, and sector representatives, such as the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), to grow the number of high-quality apprenticeships in the manufacturing sector. The AiM group has developed employer toolkits and is providing information, advice and guidance to young people, schools and influencers to promote apprenticeship opportunities in the sector.

The department is committed to supporting more employers in all sectors, in all areas of the country, including in the North, to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need. We are also committed to supporting more people to benefit from the high-quality training that apprenticeships offer.

Since August 2018, there has been a total of 422,100 apprenticeship starts across the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber.

To support more employers and learners to access apprenticeships the department is increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by 2024/25 financial year.

The department is also encouraging more flexible training models, such as front-loaded, accelerated and flexi-job apprenticeships, to make it easier for employers to access apprenticeship training in the way that works best for them.

The department continues to make improvements to the apprenticeship levy transfer system to make it easier for large employers to make full use of their levy funds and support starts in their supply chain, sector, or local area. This will also support more employers, including small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to meet local or sectoral skills needs.

We have launched a new SME pathfinder, that will support SMEs in the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber, who face barriers in recruiting apprentices to access the skills training they need to grow.

The department is raising awareness of the benefits of apprenticeships for learners through our ‘Skills for Life’ and ‘Get the Jump’ campaigns. In addition, our new ‘Career Starter Apprenticeships’ campaign showcases apprenticeship standards which offer great opportunities for those looking for their first role after leaving full-time education.

The table below provides the number of apprenticeship starts in England for the 2017/18 academic year through to the 2021/22 academic year.

Please note that the data provided for the 2021/22 academic year remains provisional until the publication of our annual apprenticeships and traineeships statistical release in November 2022. When published, this data will be available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/apprenticeships-and-traineeships-november-2022.

The department’s reforms to apprenticeships have empowered employers to develop more than 650 high-quality apprenticeship standards, helping them to build the skilled workforces they need to grow. Employers make the decision about which apprenticeships are right for them and choose when they take on apprentices to meet the needs of their business.

The department wants to support employers of all sizes to offer more apprenticeship opportunities, so that even more individuals can benefit from high-quality opportunities to earn whilst learning. We are increasing the funding available for apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year and making apprenticeship training more flexible so that apprenticeships are accessible to employers in all sectors.