Apprentices furloughed or made redundant during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: up to 26 February 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

• 1,765 apprentices were fully furloughed on 26 February 2021.
• The number of apprentices furloughed continued to rise.  505 more apprentices were fully furloughed this month than in November, when the least apprentices were furloughed.  
• However the number of apprentices furloughed is still just under a quarter of what it was at its peak, and the rate of apprentices being furloughed decreased compared to the previous 2 months.
• Less than 1% of apprenticeships have been terminated due to redundancy during the pandemic.
• Another 115 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 26% of apprentices have successfully completed their apprenticeship or gone into employment, compared to an average of 34% by this point in past years.

The inequalities are smaller than at the start of the pandemic, however some remain. The apprentices still most affected were:

• young
• working in hair and beauty; hospitality; or leisure, sport and travel
• not studying higher apprenticeships
• working for companies with less than 10 employees
• not working in the public sector
• living in mid Wales 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'.