Small Businesses: Apprentices
(asked on 19th November 2015) - View Source
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many small businesses have taken up the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers in each year that it has operated; and how many young apprentices have been taken on by businesses taking up that grant.
The number of workplaces and the number of apprenticeship starts on the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) scheme are provided in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively. The eligibility for the scheme has changed over time, and it is not possible to identify “small” employers separately from all employers eligible for the scheme.
Starts on AGE 16 to 24 are also published as part of a Statistical First Release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held
Table 1: Number of workplaces on the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers Scheme (2011/12 to 2014/15) | ||||||
Academic Year | Number of workplaces | |||||
2011/12 | 6,670 | |||||
2012/13 | 34,020 | |||||
2013/14 | 46,620 | |||||
2014/15 | 47,790 | |||||
Total | 135,100 | |||||
Notes: | ||||||
1) AGE 16 to 24 was launched in February 2012. | ||||||
2) Between 1st February 2012 and 31st July 2012, employers with up to 250 employees were eligible for AGE. Between 1st August 2012 and 31st January 2014, employers with up to 1000 employees were eligible for AGE. From 1st February 2015, employers with up to 50 employees are eligible for AGE. | ||||||
3) AGE 16 to 24 starts are defined through the Learning Delivery Funding and Monitoring Codes with values of 132 or 133 as per the ILR specification (http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140108104635/http://www.theia.org.uk/ilr/ilrdocuments/201112_ilrdetail.htm). These are validated by the Skills Funding Agency. | ||||||
4) Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten except totals which are rounded to the nearest hundred. | ||||||
Table 2: Starts on the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers Scheme (AGE 16 to 24) | |||||
Academic Year | Age | Payments Made | Pipeline Starts | ||
2011/12 | Under 19 | 4,900 | 0 | ||
19-24 | 2,950 | 0 | |||
Total | 7,900 | 0 | |||
2012/13 | Under 19 | 26,520 | 0 | ||
19-24 | 16,010 | 0 | |||
Total | 42,500 | 0 | |||
2013/14 | Under 19 | 37,390 | 0 | ||
19-24 | 23,510 | 0 | |||
Total | 60,900 | 0 | |||
2014/15 | Under 19 | 32,960 | 5,500 | ||
19-24 | 18,300 | 3,180 | |||
Total | 51,300 | 8,700 | |||
Notes: | |||||
1) AGE 16 to 24 was launched in February 2012. Payments are drawn down once the new Apprentice has been in post for 13 weeks, therefore Apprenticeships starting after 30 April 2015 are not included in the Payments Made column because they had not yet triggered a payment. | |||||
2) Pipeline Starts show those starting between May 2015 and July 2015 who have not yet qualified for a payment, but the payment would be made once the Apprentice has been in post for 13 weeks. | |||||
3) AGE 16 to 24 starts are defined through the Learning Delivery Funding and Monitoring Codes with values of 132 or 133 as per the ILR specification (http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140108104635/http://www.theia.org.uk/ilr/ilrdocuments/201112_ilrdetail.htm). These are validated by the Skills Funding Agency. | |||||
4) Starts in this table include learners aged 19-24 on application but aged 25 when learning started. | |||||
5) Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten except totals which are rounded to the nearest hundred. | |||||