Today the Department for Education (DfE) has published new data on apprenticeships in England.
Becca Gooch, Head of Research at EngineeringUK, who has been analysing the data, comments:
“We are pleased to see that engineering and technology apprenticeship starts have increased by 5%. This comes at a time when we urgently need more people entering careers in the sector. Skills England has identified that the engineering, construction and digital technologies sectors will experience some of largest increases in job demand between now and 2030.
“Boosting apprenticeship starts among underrepresented groups is crucial to building a more resilient workforce. We are therefore pleased to see that more women are starting engineering and technology apprenticeships. 20% of all apprenticeship starts in the sector in 2024/25 were by women, up from 17% in 2023/24. However, while a step in the right direction, this still represents a significant gender imbalance. EngineeringUK and partners in the Gender Pathways collective continue to look across the education and employment systems to identify, build and advocate for solutions that can accelerate progress.
“After recent long-term decline in level 2 engineering and technology apprenticeship starts, it is encouraging that they have remained broadly stable this year. However, as starts among under-19s have declined overall and growth is concentrated in the 25+ age group, this raises concerns about access to these routes for young people.
“The government introduced foundation apprenticeships to boost paid entry routes for young people. None of these started in the 2024/25 academic year, so are not covered by today’s data release. However, it may be a steep hill to climb to achieve the government’s expectation of 30,000 young people starting a foundation apprenticeship before the end of this Parliament (by 2029).
“We explored some of the issues that government must tackle to ensure that foundation apprenticeships are successful in our recent report on this topic. We urge government to keep engaging with industry representatives and employers, to maximise apprenticeship opportunities for young people starting their career at level 2.”
The full 2024/2025 apprenticeships data briefing will be available to download here.
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Notes to editors
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About EngineeringUK
EngineeringUK is a not-for-profit organisation that drives change so more young people choose engineering and technology careers. Our mission is to enable more young people from all backgrounds to be inspired, informed and progress into engineering and technology.
We work closely with our Corporate Members and in partnership with hundreds of organisations. We lead collaborative efforts to improve the impact of all engineering and tech inspiration and careers activities for young people through Tomorrow’s Engineers and managing The Tomorrow’s Engineers Code.
We ignite a passion for STEM among young people from all backgrounds through EUK Education and our school engagement programmes such as The Big Bang. Our careers resources help teachers bring STEM to life through real-world engineering and tech stories via Neon.
Our research and evidence build insight into the current workforce and our future needs. And our evaluations build understanding of what really works to inspire and inform the next generation. We also advocate for policy development in STEM and careers education and workforce planning for engineering and tech.
