FE data library: other statistics and research
Source: data.gov.uk (2016-12-02)

Other statistics published alongside the statistical first release.

These are not National Statistics, but complement the information in the main release.

FE trends

FE trends provides an overview of adult (19+) government-funded further education and all age apprenticeships in England. It looks to provide trends between 2008/09 and 2013/14 and to give an overview of FE provision, characteristics of learners and outcomes over time.

International Comparisons Supplementary Tables

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) produces an annual publication, Education at a Glance, providing a variety of comparisons between OECD countries. The table provided here contains a summary of the relative ranking in education attainment of the 25-64 year old population in OECD countries in 2012.
The OECD statistics use the International Standard Classification of Education. Within this, “at least upper secondary education” is equivalent to holding qualifications at Level 2 or above in the UK, and “tertiary education” is equivalent to holding qualifications at Level 4 or above in the UK.

STEM

This research is the result of a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) funded, sector led project to gather and analyse data to inform the contribution that further education makes to STEM in England.
This project was led by The Royal Academy of Engineering, and governance of the project was specifically designed to ensure that those with an interest in STEM were actively engaged and involved in directing and prioritising outputs.
The November 2012 report builds on the FE and Skills STEM Data report published in July 2011 (below). It provides further analysis and interpretation of the existing data in a highly graphical format. It uses the same classified list of S,T, E and M qualifications as the 2011 report compiled through an analysis of the Register of Regulated Qualifications and the Learning Aim Database, updated with the most recent completions and achievements data taken from the Individualised Learner Record and the National Pupil Database.

Size and Industry of 
Businesses with 
Apprentices, 2013/14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Contents 
Summary .................................................................................................................... 4 
Findings ...................................................................................................................... 5 
Size of business ......................................................................................................... 5 
Figure 1: Businesses with an apprenticeship start by size of business, 2013/14 .... 5 
Figure 2: Apprenticeship starts by size of business, 2013/14 ................................. 6 
Figure 3: Average number of apprenticeship starts per business by size of 
business, 2013/14 ................................................................................................... 6 
Table 1: Proportion of VAT / PAYEregistered businesses with an apprenticeship 
start by size-band of business, 2013/14 .................................................................. 7 
Industry ...................................................................................................................... 7 
Figure 4: Apprenticeship starts by industry of business, 2013/14 ........................... 8 
Figure 5: Percentage of VAT / PAYE registered businesses with an apprenticeship 
start by industry, 2013/14 ........................................................................................ 8 
Geography ................................................................................................................. 9 
Figure 6: Proportion of VAT / PAYEregistered businesses with an apprenticeship 
start by region and size-band of business, 2013/14 ................................................ 9 
Background .............................................................................................................. 10 
 
 
 

 
 
Size and Industry of Businesses with 
Apprentices, 2013/14 
 
This analysis provides an indicative view of the type of businesses which employ 
apprentices. 
 
Historically, we have only been able to show the number of “workplaces” contracted 
who deliver an apprenticeship: by bringing together data on businesses from the 
Interdepartmental Business Register (IDBR), we can now show the size and sector 
of the enterprises delivering apprenticeships. This analysis is limited to the 75.7 per 
cent of apprentices we have been able to link to IDBR business, but does benefit 
from using IDBR-assigned size and sector information, which underpins all the key 
National Statistics published on enterprises, such as UK Business or the Business 
Population Estimates. 
 
Care should be taken when interpreting these data as there will be some biases 
within them, for example its lack of coverage of very small business (those self-
employed businesses that have no employees and turnover below the VAT 
threshold). The businesses that are covered in this report are VAT/PAYE registered 
businesses only. For more information, please see the background section of this 
publication. 
 
Despite the limitations of the source, this analysis does provide some useful 
indicative estimates that are increasingly needed to provide insight to the areas of 
the economy engaged in apprenticeships. We intended to update these estimates 
annually and expect to improve the methodology. 
Summary 
 
 Analysis reveals that 47 per cent of apprenticeship starts were in a small 
business, but 82 per cent of all businesses with an apprenticeship start were 
small. 
 
 The percentage of businesses with an apprenticeship start increases with 
business size, from 4 per cent for small businesses, to 34 per cent for medium 
businesses and 62 per cent for large businesses.  
 
 Each business with an apprenticeship start had, on average, 4 apprenticeship 
starts in 2013/14. The average number of apprenticeship starts in a business 
rises from 2 per cent in small businesses to 5 per cent in medium businesses 
and 27 per cent in large businesses.  
 
 Businesses with an apprenticeship start in 2013/14 were concentrated in the 
Health and Social Work, Wholesale, Retail and Motor trade and Construction 

 
 
sectors.  
 
 A higher proportion of businesses in the Education and Health and Social 
Work sectors had at least one apprenticeship start (17 per cent and 14 per 
cent respectively) compared with an average of 5 per cent across all 
industries.  
 
 Regionally, the percentage of businesses with an apprenticeship start follows 
a similar distribution to apprenticeship starts and does not seem to be 
influenced by business size. The percentage of businesses with an 
apprenticeship start was highest in the North for all business size bands. 
Findings 
 
This experimental analysis found that of the 240,900 workplaces with apprentices on 
the ILR in 2013/14, matches were found for 89,400 businesses on the IDBR. 
 
Secondly, of the 440,400 apprenticeships started in 2013/14 on the ILR, the analysis 
matched 356,900 (81 per cent) to a business on the IDBR. 
 
The following information is based on those employers and apprentices that were 
successfully matched. 
Size of business 
 
Overall, 98.3% of VAT/PAYE registered businesses are small and 0.3% are large. 
Most businesses with an apprenticeship start were small. Of the 89,400 employers 
with an apprenticeship start, 82.2% were small businesses (0-49 employees), 12.3% 
were medium businesses (50-249 employees) and 5.5% were large businesses 
(250+ employees) (Figure 1).  
Figure 1: Businesses with an apprenticeship start by size of business, 2013/14 
 
However, most apprenticeship starts were in medium or large businesses. Of the 
356,900 matched apprenticeship starts, 47.2% were based in small businesses, 
82.2% 
12.3% 
5.5% 
Small
Medium
Large

 
 
15.3% were in medium-sized businesses and 37.5% were in large businesses 
(Figure 2).  
Figure 2: All Apprenticeship starts by size of business, 2013/14 
 
Each matched employer with an apprenticeship start had, on average, 4 
apprenticeship starts in 2013/14. Small businesses had, on average, 2.3 
apprenticeship starts each, rising to 5.0 for medium-sized businesses and 27.3 for 
large businesses (Figure 3).  
Figure 3: Average number of apprenticeship starts per business by size of business, 
2013/14 
Total 
Small 
Medium 
Large 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In 2013/14, 4.6% of all VAT / PAYE registered businesses in England had an 
apprenticeship start. This proportion increases with the size of business; 3.8% of 
small businesses had an apprenticeship start compared to 33.7% of medium-sized 
businesses and 61.8% of large businesses (Table 1).  
 
 
 
47.2% 
15.3% 
37.5% 
Small
Medium
Large
27.3 
4.0 
5.0 
2.3 

 
 
 
Table 1: Proportion of VAT / PAYE registered businesses with an apprenticeship 
start by size-band of business, 2013/14 
Size-band of business 
Proportion of 
businesses with an 
apprenticeship start 
Small (0-49 employees) 
3.8% 
Medium (50-249 employees) 
33.7% 
Large (250+ employees) 
61.8% 
Total 
4.6% 
 
Industry 
 
Employers with an apprenticeship start in 2013/14 were concentrated in the Health 
and Social Work, Wholesale, Retail and Motor trade and Construction sectors 
(Figure 4). 
The proportion of businesses across each industry with an apprenticeship start 
varies between 1.1% of total businesses in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, to 
16.8% of businesses in Human Health and Social Work Activities (Figure 5).  
 
 

 
 
Figure 4: All apprenticeship starts by industry of business, 2013/14 
 
Figure 5: Percentage of VAT/PAYE registered businesses with an apprenticeship 
start by industry, 2013/14  
 
1.1% 
1.4% 
1.8% 
2.3% 
2.7% 
3.5% 
4.2% 
4.2% 
4.7% 
6.7% 
6.9% 
6.9% 
8.3% 
14.2% 
16.8% 
4.6% 
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
Information and Communication
Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities
Transportation and Storage
Real Estate Activities
Administrative and Support Service Activities
Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles
Financial and Insurance Activities
Construction
Public Administration and Defence; Social Security
Production
Accommodation and Food Service Activities
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation & Other Services
Education
Human Health and Social Work Activities
Total

 
 
 Geography 
 
Regionally, the proportion of businesses with an apprenticeship start follows a similar 
distribution to apprenticeship starts and does not seem to be influenced by business 
size (Figure 6).  
The proportion of businesses with an apprenticeship start was highest in the North, 
and lowest in London, for all business size bands. 
Figure 6: Proportion of VAT / PAYE registered businesses with an apprenticeship 
start by region and size-band of business, 2013/14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Small
Medium
Large

 
 
Background 
 
The Individual Learner Record (ILR) provides robust data on apprentices and the 
workplaces they are based in, including detailed information on course and personal 
characteristics. The ILR data is collected from publicly funded further education 
providers in England. 
 
Due to the lack of data it has been impossible so far to accurately identify the size 
and sector of the actual businesses these apprentices are working for. The 
‘workplace’ could be one of many local sites that make up a larger ‘business’, so 
knowing the size of the workplace does not necessarily give information about the 
nature of the business they are part of. 
 
This analysis attempts to fill this evidence gap by combining data from the ONS 
Inter-departmental Business Register (IDBR) on business size and sector with 
apprenticeships data from the ILR. The IDBR is the comprehensive list of UK 
businesses that is used by Government for statistical purposes and provides the 
main sampling frame for surveys of businesses. It is organised in different datasets 
and information is updated each quarter. The enterprise unit is at the centre of IDBR 
classification and all other units (i.e. local unit) can be linked to the enterprise. Using 
this classification, it is possible to distinguish between a given local unit, an 
administrative unit or an observational unit.  
 
The industrial classification (the activity) of businesses held on the IDBR is based 
upon the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2007 (SIC 
2007).The size of business and SIC code information throughout this report is based 
upon enterprise unit. The matching strategy was based on developing an approach 
to identify those entities engaging in publicly funded training within the IDBR at the 
enterprise level through matching on Company Registration Number, company 
/trading name and postcode, and fuzzy matching using entity characteristics. 
 
A few points on the characteristics of publicly funded workplace training in the period 
considered should be taken into consideration when interpreting the data (as well as 
in the later analysis when considering the impact of training on industry and firm-
level outcomes):  
 
The Train to Gain initiative was phased out starting from the end of the 2010/11 
academic year while funding for Apprenticeships was increased in the period; 
 
 Apprenticeship provision is demand-led and it is possible that lower productivity 
industries facing greater cost pressures and/or credit constraints may make a more 
intensive use of publicly funded training than undertake privately provided training. 
As noted by Ryan (2011)1, there may be significant variation across industries in the 
                                                 
1 “While some of the learning that is [..] supported by the Apprenticeships programme, such as craft training in engineering, 
combines part-time vocational education with work-based training, and thus satisfies the definition [of apprenticeship], much 
does not. This is because training standards vary greatly by occupation and sector, according to the decisions of individual 
Sector Skills Councils, and the ‘frameworks’ that those Councils have adopted for the service occupations (including those in 
business administration, retailing, customer service, and childcare), require little off-the-job learning and no formal education”. 
Paul Ryan, (2011)."Apprenticeship: between theory and practice, school and workplace" Economics of Education Working 
Paper Series 0064, University of Zurich. 

 
 
contents of Apprenticeship provision, meaning that publicly funded training may have 
significantly different quality standards. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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