Apprenticeships and Work Based Learners – Diversity (2024-25 Year-End)

Impact on Diversity and Inclusion

Gender mix

Ethnicity mix

Learning difficulty or disability

In 2024/25 the apprenticeship cohort continued to be predominantly white male as in previous years. The participation rates between male and female have remained similar, males 73.1% and females 26.7%. There is a significant difference in achievement between male and female apprentices, with females (74.3%) achieving higher than males (55.5%).

While our BAME apprenticeship participation profile is broadly representative of the communities we serve and is consistent with the previous year at 12%, it is significantly lower than other College student cohorts, such as classroom-based provision.

Whilst there have been some improvements in narrowing the achievement gap for BAME apprentices from the previous year, here is a significant difference in the overall achievement rates of black (-21.2%) and mixed heritage (-6.7%) apprentices. The college will investigate the difference in achievement for these cohorts and implement an action plan to support these apprentices to ensure that the gap is narrowed.

We supported 197 apprentices who declared a special educational need or disability (SEND) in 2024/25, which at 11.7% is a marginal decrease on the previous year (-1.4%). This year there is a significant difference in achievement amongst 16 to 18 apprentices who declare a disability and those who do not -(20.7%). This has not been the case for the past 3 years so the College will investigate and take action to address this.