Apprenticeships growth seen across England, but more needed

Data released today by the National Apprenticeship Service shows that volume of apprenticeships and demand for the roles are growing significantly, also confirming their prevalence in white-collar and professional jobs, rather than in the blue-collar positions they are more traditionally associated with.
Fri, 30 Aug 2013
Data released today by the National Apprenticeship Service shows that volume of apprenticeships and demand for the roles are growing significantly, also confirming their prevalence in white-collar and professional jobs, rather than in the blue-collar positions they are more traditionally associated with.

The service’s data shows that just over 1.4m online applications were made for apprenticeship vacancies in England in the past 12 months, up by just under a third (32%) on the previous academic year.

With the average online vacancy now attracting 11 applications, albeit a much lower rate than for many graduate-level recruitment programmes, the government is urging more employers to consider how hiring an apprentice could benefit their business.

The government call comes in the first academic year since UK universities were allowed to charge tuition fees of up to £9k a year to students. Some degree courses have seen a drop in applications to certain courses, while reports suggest parents are increasingly suggesting children go into work over tertiary education.

The number of vacancies posted online rose by over a quarter from 101,000 to 129,000.

As was the case last year, business & administration apprenticeships account for just over a quarter of both applications and vacancies. Around 100,000 applications were received both for childcare and customer service apprenticeships, the second and third most popular schemes.

The top three areas seeing a fast growth in apprenticeships available were health optical retail (up 590% year-on-year), vehicle sales (500%) and facilities management (290%).

The National Apprenticeship Service has also produced Google ‘heatmaps’ showing that the areas with the greatest total number of apprenticeship vacancies in England were Essex and Birmingham, while the areas showing the highest level of competition for each vacancy were Medway, three areas in the West Midlands and 10 London boroughs.

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