By county, Rogaland had the largest decline in apprentices, with 7 per cent. Only M re og Romsdal had the same number of apprentices in the autumn of 2000 as it had the year before. Apprenticeship examinations There had been a major decline in the number of candidates taking apprenticeship examinations. This is a decline of 25.5 per cent from the period 01.10.1998 to 30.09.1999. The number of candidates aged 19 and 20 who have passed an apprenticeship examination has increased.
Numbers are otherwise down.
The largest decline was noted among candidates aged 25 and up, where a 39 per cent decline was seen. The decline in the 23-24 age group was 32.3 per cent. This decline is mainly due to the transition option put in place in connection with Reform 94, which gave candidates the opportunity to take the apprenticeship examination under the old system. Reform 94 consequently led to an increase in the number of candidates taking an apprenticeship examination in subsequent years, before the numbers began falling again. The statistics are published annually.