Diversity


Apprenticeships and Work Based Learners – Diversity (2023-24 Year-End)

Impact on Diversity and Inclusion

Gender mix

Pie chart showing the gender diversity of 16 to 18 apprentices

Ethnicity mix

Pie chart showing the ethnic diversity of 16 to 18 apprentices

Learning difficulty or disability

Pie chart showing the percentage of 16 to 18 apprentices with learning difficulties or disabilities

In 2024/24 the participation rates between male and female have remained similar, males 70.8% (70%) and females 29% (30%). We continue to work with schools to drive up female engagement in STEM careers, supported by the school liaison team and the Black Country and Marches Institute of Technology.

There is a significant difference in achievement between male and female apprentices, with females (69.1%) achieving higher than males (57.3%) by 11.8%. This is linked to the significantly higher numbers of male apprentices on long Apprenticeship programmes with lower retention (building services, engineering, etc) – see achievement analysis in next section.

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 pleased to see that we are significantly closing the achievement gap previously seen with some ethnicity groups (such as Asian and Black apprentices). We do recognise this work continues however and we would particularly like to realise a further improvement in achievement rates for mixed heritage apprentices (currently -17.7% behind the overall college rate). The college will continue work hard to ensure focused intervention is in place to narrow the gap of achievement for these apprentices.

We were pleased to support 248 apprentices who have declared a learning difficulty or disability in 2023/24, which is in line with the previous year. 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.

Apprentices with a declared learning difficulty or disability have seen a 6.9% increase in their achievement rate compared to last year, although we recognise this rate is still -2.6% below the overall college rate. The college will continue to use support systems and additional learning support to close the gap in achievement seen this year.

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