Today’s Education in the Media blog looks at newly released statistics on apprenticeships and university applications.
Apprenticeships statistics
It is great news that quarterly statistics released today show that apprenticeship starts for the first three quarters of 2018/19 increased by 7.1% compared to the same period last year. The data also shows that there have been over 1.8m apprenticeship starts since May 2015, and over 4.1m starts since May 2010 reported to date.
We are also pleased that our stats show there has been an increase in apprenticeship starts by people of black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds as well as by those with a learning difficulty or disability.
Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton said:
I’m very pleased that the number of people starting an apprenticeship has increased by 7.1% compared to this time last year. It is also excellent news that over 61% of people started their apprenticeship journey on one of our new higher-quality apprenticeship opportunities, which have all been designed in partnership with employers so apprentices gain the skills employers need.
Apprenticeships change lives. They are giving people of all ages and backgrounds the chance to gain the skills to get ahead in life. There are now over 450 of our new high-quality apprenticeships available in everything from train driver, solicitor, aerospace engineer and marine pilot. Find out more at www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/ and get on the path to an exciting career.
The news was covered in FE News.
University applications
Today, Thursday 11 July, UCAS published an analysis of all full-time UCAS Undergraduate applications made by the deadline.
The DfE is pleased that figures today show that once again there is a record rate of 18-year-olds in England, including those from a disadvantaged background applying to university. Applications from those from the most disadvantaged areas increased by 6 per cent.
It also shows that applications from China continue to rapidly grow, with applicant numbers up 30 per cent to 19,760 – this means, for the first time, there are more applicants from China than Northern Ireland (18,520).
The news was covered extensively in the media, including reports in: The Guardian, FT, Telegraph, BBC online, Independent and Daily Mail.
Universities Minister Chris Skidmore said:
It is fantastic to see there are record rates of 18-year-olds in England, including an increase from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, applying to university, along with increasing numbers of applications from international students too.
International students bring huge cultural and economic benefits to the UK. That is why our International Education Strategy sets out an ambition to increase international student numbers to 600,000 by 2030 and offers a number of measures to support the sector maintain further, sustainable growth from across the world.
These figures show we are making good progress in our ambition to open up world-leading higher education to anyone who has the potential to benefit from it and I’m confident that we can go even further.
Follow us on Twitter and don't forget to sign up for email alerts.