United Kingdom
Apprenticeships and vocational education and training (VET) in the United Kingdom: 64 indicators with data · 47 open datasets.
Key figures
Latest value for the United Kingdom on the main measures of vocational education and work-based learning, with the EU-27 figure for the same year where one is published. Select an indicator for its map, ranking, trend and downloads.
| Indicator | United Kingdom | EU-27 | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of upper-secondary VET pupils in work-based programmesEurostat; calculation by Apprentix · educ_uoe_enrs04 | 44.9% | 24.1% d | 2019 |
| Pupils in combined school- and work-based upper-secondary VETEurostat · educ_uoe_enrs04 | 648,116 pupils | 2,051,701 pupils d | 2019 |
| IVET students as % of all upper secondary studentsCedefop · KIVET 1010 | 41.5% | 48.4% | 2019 |
| Employment rate of recent VET graduatesEurostat · edat_lfse_24 | 83.4% | 79.2% | 2019 |
| Employment premium for recent IVET graduates (over general stream) (%)Cedefop · KIVET 2090a | 7.8% | 16.3% | 2019 |
| Employment rate of adults with vocational vs general upper-secondary qualifications (OECD)Vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education; From 25 to 64 yearsOECD | 77.8% | — | 2025 |
| Enterprises employing initial-VET participantsEurostat · trng_cvt_34s | 30.5% of enterprises b | 30.5% of enterprises b | 2015 |
| Erasmus+ VET mobility projectsEuropean Commission (DG EAC / EACEA), Erasmus+ project results · ErasmusPlus_KA1 | 107 projects | 3,104 projects | 2020 |
| Early leavers from education and training (%)Cedefop · KIVET 3010 | 10.9% | 10.1% | 2019 |
| NEET rate for 15-29 year-olds (%)Cedefop · KIVET 3030 | 11.4% | 12.5% | 2019 |
Sources: Eurostat; calculation by Apprentix (CC-BY-4.0); Eurostat (CC-BY-4.0); Cedefop (CC-BY-4.0); OECD (CC-BY-4.0); European Commission (DG EAC / EACEA), Erasmus+ project results (CC-BY-4.0). Totals only (default breakdown). Letters after a value are the publisher's flags; hover for their meaning.
National statistics
Series from the United Kingdom's own statistical sources. Definitions differ from country to country, so these figures should not be compared with other countries'.
| Indicator | United Kingdom | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Apprenticeship achievements in EnglandDepartment for Education (England), Explore Education Statistics | 146,210 achievements p | 2025 |
| Apprenticeship participation in EnglandDepartment for Education (England), Explore Education Statistics | 735,500 learners p | 2025 |
| Apprenticeship starts in EnglandDepartment for Education (England), Explore Education Statistics | 308,770 starts p | 2025 |
Sources: Department for Education (England), Explore Education Statistics (OGL-UK-3.0).
More indicators
51 further indicators have data for the United Kingdom, each with a map, ranking, trend and downloads.
Show 51 indicators
- Adults (16-74 year-olds) learning online (%)
- Adults (25-64 year-olds) who wanted to participate in training but did not (%)
- Adults (25-64 year-olds) with a learning experience in the last 12 months (%) - AES
- Adults (25-64 year-olds) with a learning experience in the last 4 weeks (%) - LFS
- Enterprises sponsoring training (%)
- Female IVET students as % of all female upper secondary students
- Hours spent in CVT courses (per 1000 hours worked)
- IVET students with direct access to tertiary education as % of all upper secondary IVET
- IVET work-based students as % of all upper secondary IVET
- Job-related non-formal adult learning (%) - AES
- Low-qualified adults with a learning experience in the last 12 months (%) - AES
- Low-qualified adults with a learning experience in the last 12 months (%) - AES (excl. GOJT)
- Low-qualified adults with a learning experience in the last 4 weeks (%) - LFS
- Older adults (55-64 year-olds) with a learning experience in the last 12 months (%) - AES
- Older adults (55-64 year-olds) with a learning experience in the last 12 months (%) - AES (excl. GOJT)
- Older adults (55-64 year-olds) with a learning experience in the last 4 weeks (%) - LFS
- Small firms' workers participating in CVT courses (%)
- Unemployed adults with a learning experience in the last 4 weeks (%)
- Workers participating in CVT courses (% of staff)
- Young IVET graduates in further education and training (%)
- 25-34 year-olds with tertiary attainment (%)
- Adults with lower level of educational attainment (%)
- Employment in knowledge intensive activities (% of total employment)
- Employment rate of recent graduates (%)
- Unemployment rate for 20-34 year-olds (%)
- Participations in Centres of Vocational Excellence projects
- Adults' average expenditure on non-formal learning (EUR per participant)
- Enterprise expenditure on CVT courses as % of total labour cost
- Government expenditure on training for persons with difficulties on the labour market (% of GDP)
- Government expenditure on vocational secondary and post-secondary education (UIS)
- IVET public expenditure (% of GDP)
- IVET public expenditure per student (1000 PPS units)
- Employed ICT specialists (1000s)
- People at risk of poverty or social exclusion (1000s)
- EU grant for Erasmus+ VET mobility projects
- Employment rate of recent general-education graduates
- Share of 15–24-year-olds enrolled in vocational education (UIS)
- Share of VET students in combined school- and work-based programmes (OECD)
- Share of secondary students in vocational programmes (UIS)
- Share of short-cycle tertiary students in vocational programmes (UIS)
- Share of upper-secondary students in vocational programmes (UIS)
- Adults (16-74 year-olds) with at least basic digital skills (%)
- Employment rate for recent IVET graduates (20-34 year-olds) (%)
- IVET graduates as % of all upper secondary graduates
- Job-related non-formal adult learning activities with acquired skills being used at least to fair extent (%) – AES.
- Job-related non-formal adult learning activities with favourable outcomes (%) - AES.
- STEM graduates from upper secondary IVET (% of total)
- Workers helped to improve their work by training (%)
- Workers with skills matched to their duties (%)
- European Skills Index (ESI) — 2018, 2020 and 2022 editions as published
- European Skills Index (ESI), 2024 methodology
Open datasets
47 open datasets on apprenticeship and VET from the United Kingdom are listed on Europe's open-data portals, 45 of them specifically about apprenticeship.
Source: data.europa.eu — the official portal for European data (search API) (EC-reuse). Each dataset keeps its own licence.
Sources and licences
Apprentix republishes these figures and records; the publishers' own versions remain authoritative. See Data & sources for reuse conditions.