Apprentices furloughed or made redundant during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: up to 25 June 2021

This data is management information provided to the Welsh Government by apprenticeship providers, combined with records from the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR). It has not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics.

Main points

• 860 apprentices were fully furloughed on 25 June 2021.
• The number of apprentices furloughed continued to fall; for every 10 apprentices fully furloughed in April, 3 fewer were on furlough in June (375 fewer overall). 
• The number of apprentices furloughed is 89% smaller than at its peak.
• Less than 0.5% of apprenticeships have been terminated due to redundancy over the past year.
• Another 90 apprentices (less than 0.5%) had been made redundant but remain in learning whilst their provider tries to source an alternative employer.
• Fewer apprenticeships have ended, successfully or unsuccessfully, compared to previous years.
• Only 27% of apprentices have completed their apprenticeship or gone into employment, compared to an average of 34% by this point in past years.

As the number of apprentices furloughed continues to fall, there are inequalities in who remains furloughed. The apprentices most affected were:

• young
• male
• white or mixed race
• working in leisure, sport and travel; or hospitality
• not studying higher apprenticeships
• working for companies with less than 10 employees
• not working in the public sector
• living in mid or south west Wales

Information on the overall number of people furloughed in Wales can be found in the report 'Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme statistics'.

Note

The statistics for apprentices ending their apprenticeship cover a longer time period and look at a slightly different cohort of apprentices than the statistics in the Outcomes for learners in post-16 education affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: August 2019 to July 2020 report. A learner who has completed an apprenticeship has taken the required learning, but may or may not have achieved all the required qualifications.