Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of apprenticeship starts involved people (a) already employed by their employer and (b) recruited by their employer in order to undertake an apprenticeship in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

The department does not hold this information for the last 12 months.

We conducted the 2017 apprenticeship evaluation learner survey, which found 56 per cent of all level 2 and 3 apprentices were recruited specifically with the intention of completing an apprenticeship. Just over two-fifths of level 2 and 3 apprenticeships (42 per cent) were undertaken by those in existing roles already working for their employer: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-evaluation-2017-learners-survey.

The 2017 apprenticeship evaluation employers’ survey found that 60 per cent of employers provided their apprenticeships to people who were recruited specifically to start an apprenticeship, with the training starting straight away. A smaller group of employers (10 per cent) had provided apprenticeships to people who were recruited with the intention that they would start an apprenticeship, but the training did not start immediately. 32 per cent provided apprenticeships to existing employees that were already working for them; this excludes any recruited with the intention of starting an apprenticeship: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-evaluation-2017-employers-survey.