Apprenticeships and Work Based Learners – Diversity (2022-23 Year-End)

Impact on Diversity and Inclusion

Gender mix

Ethnicity mix

Learning difficulty or disability

In 2022/23 the participation rates between male and female have remained similar to previous years, males 70% (69%) and females 30% (31%).

We continue to work with schools to drive up female engagement in STEM careers, supported by the introduction of the Institute of Technology.

There is no significant difference in achievement between male and female apprentices.

Our BAME apprenticeship participation profile is broadly representative of the communities we serve and remains the same as the previous year 12% but lower than other College student cohorts such as classroom-based provision. We are currently working with West Midland Colleges on a workstream around recruitment of BAME apprentices.

There continue to be some significant differences in the achievement rates of Asian (-10%), Black (-31.8%) and Mixed heritage (-13.4%) apprentices. The college will continue work hard to ensure intervention is in place to narrow the gap of achievement for these apprentices.

We were pleased to support 283 apprentices who declare a special education need or disability (SEND) in 2022/23, which is 12% which is marginally higher on the previous year at 10% of all apprentices. We deliver support to these apprentices using a dedicated apprenticeship support team. We have continued to focus on ensuring this support programme meets individual needs and have introduced a new initial assessment process to assist with this moving forwards.

Apprentices with a declared SEND achieve at a slightly lower rate than their peers –1.4%. this gap has been closed compared to last year which saw a 6% difference. The college will continue to use support systems to close the gap in achievement seen this year.