Lovell, Phil

English

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 SDR 171/2011                                                                                                                                        22 September 2011  Publication of:  ‘Further Education, Work-based Learning and Community Learning in Wales Statistics 2009/10’  The latest edition of the annual publication ‘Further Education, Work-based Learning and Community Learning in Wales Statistics 2009/10’ is published today, containing a range of statistical information about post-16 education in Wales.  The publication is intended as a reference source and contains substantial detail.  Additional information on 2009/10 is available in the form of statistical releases, statistical bulletins and StatsWales cubes (see appendix of publication detailing information sources).  Limited Early Statistics for December 2010 have also been released. These statistics are primarily intended for use by the Welsh Government, education and training providers, other organisations, academia and private individuals to carry out research, briefing and policy development relating to the post-16 education sector in Wales.   Key points include:  Further Education • 184,730 distinct learners were enrolled at Further Education (FE) institutions in 2009/10, 4.2 per cent fewer than in 2008/09. • 125,420 learners were in-learning at an FE institution as at the week of 1 December 2009. • There was a 21 per cent decrease in FE learner numbers at Further Education and Higher Education (HE) institutions between December 2003 and December 2009. • Between December 2003 and December 2009, full-time FE learner numbers grew by 7 per cent but part-time numbers fell by 30 per cent; over the same period, the number of FE learners aged 18 and under grew by 10 per cent but the number aged 19 and over fell by 31 per cent. • Full-time equivalent numbers (FTEs) peaked in 2005/06.  Between 2005/06 and 2009/10, FTE learners (excluding WBL) at FEIs declined by 7 per cent. • Excluding colleges affected by mergers during the course of the academic year, non-college institutions and the WBL component of a University subsidiary, the relative changes in head count learner numbers from 2008/09 to 2009/10 ranged from an 18 per cent decrease (at Yale College, Wrexham) to a 12 per cent increase (at St David’s Catholic College in Cardiff). • 1,920 learners at FE institutions were enrolled on a designated HE programme (only) in 2009/10; however in total 4,975 provider learners pursued one or more learning activities at HE level within overarching FE, HE and work-based learning (WBL) programmes. Statistician: Phil Lovell                  Tel: 029 2092 6041                       E-mail: post16ed.stats@wales.gsi.gov.uk Next update: September 2011 (provisional) Twitter: www.twitter.com/statisticswales | www.twitter.com/ystadegaucymru • 55 per cent of learners at FE institutions were female, down from 57 per cent in 2008/09.  The proportion had previously remained virtually constant at between 57 and 58 per cent since 2003/04. • 24 per cent of learners at FEIs were full-time, 68 per cent part-time (down from 71 per cent the previous year) and 8 per cent were work-based learners. • 44 per cent of learners at FE institutions were aged under 25 (up from 41 per cent the previous year) and 28 per cent under the age of 19. • 5 per cent of learners at FE institutions were of a non-white ethnic origin. • 3.2 per cent of learners at FE institutions had a (primary or secondary) disability affecting learning and 3.1 per cent had a learning difficulty (with some overlap with the previous figure).  The volume gives a more detailed categorisation of learners with disabilities and learning difficulties. • 666,045 learning activities were undertaken by learners at FE institutions. • The two most popular subject areas were Care/Personal Development (including Basic Skills) (26 per cent, up from 22 per cent the previous year) and Information Technology (13 per cent). • 4.2 per cent of learning activities were undertaken bilingually and 0.5 per cent through the medium of Welsh. • The most popular types of learning activities recorded (excluding ‘other’ category) were Open College Network (OCN) credits (22 per cent) and key skills (19 per cent). • 90 per cent of learning activities at FEIs were completed. • Of the completed learning activities with an assessable outcome, 89 per cent were attained.  Local Authority Community Learning • 39,605 learners undertook a Local Authority Community Learning activity in 2009/10, 8.9 per cent fewer than in 2008/09. • 27,235 learners were in-learning during the week of 1 December 2009. • Between December 2003 and December 2009, there was a small decline (1.3 per cent) in the number of learners pursuing maintained LA CL provision (enrolled and taught at local authorities) but a 54 per cent decrease in learners pursuing contracted-in LA CL provision (taught by local authority staff but enrolled at FE institutions. • On a full year basis, there was a 3.3 per cent increase in the number of maintained provision LA CL learners between 2003/04 and 2009/10 but a 51 per cent decrease in contracted-in learners. • 10 per cent of learners in 2009/10 were under the age of 25. • 58 per cent of learners were aged between 25 and 59. • 32 per cent of learners in the full year were aged 60 and over. • 71 per cent of learners were female. • 98,545 learning activities were undertaken in 2009/10, 32 per cent higher than in 2008/09 even though the number of learners pursuing them fell over the same period. • The most prevalent subject areas for learning activities were Cultural Studies/Languages/Literature (40 per cent, up from 21 per cent the previous year), Information Technology (13 per cent) , Arts and Crafts (12 per cent) and Care/Personal Development [including Basic Skills](17 per cent). • The increase in the ratio of learning activities per learner and in the proportion contributed by Cultural Studies/ Languages/Literature both result from an expansion in the number of short course modules in English for Students of Other Languages (ESOL) contracted-in from an FE institution. Work-based learning • 57,605 learners were engaged in work-based learning (WBL) provision in 2009/10, taken as a whole, 1.9 per cent more than in 2008/09.  1740 of these learners were pursuing the new Pathways to Apprenticeships (PtA) scheme, an FE programme supporting WBL provision.  Excluding PtA, the number of learners pursuing WBL programmes fell by 1.2 per cent. • Of WBL provision learners, around 32,400 were in-learning at the end of March 2010, 1.5 per cent more than in March 2004. • 55 per cent of learners were under the age of 25 (compared with 52 per cent in 2008/09, 50 per cent in 2007/08, 52 per cent in 2006/07, 54 per cent in 2005/06 and 66 per cent in 2004/05); 31 per cent were under the age of 19. • 49 per cent of learners in 2009/10 were male, as compared with 47 per cent in the previous two years and 52 per cent in 2004/05. • 3.1 per cent of learners were of a non-white ethnic origin (2.2 per cent in 2004/05). • 2.2 per cent of learners had a disability affecting learning. • 63 per cent of learners were on a Modern Apprenticeship or Foundation Modern Apprenticeship programme, down from 70 per cent in 2008/09 and 74 per cent in 2007/08. • 69 per cent of the learning activities taken were at a notional level of NVQ level 1 or 2;  14 per cent were at pre-entry level or entry level, 15 per cent were at level 3 and 2 per cent were at level 4 or above.  • 59 per cent of learning programmes finished were followed by (current or new) employment, with 64.5 per cent of learners leaving with employment as their destination. • The most popular sector frameworks for MAs, FMAs and MSDs overall were Health and Social Care (17.5 per cent), Early Years’ Care and Education (8 per cent), Management (8 per cent) and Customer Service (8 per cent).  The Management sector framework accounted for 41 per cent of Modern Skills Diploma learning programmes pursued in 2009/10. • Around 214,500 learning activities were undertaken through work-based learning in 2009/10  Key Quality Information Quality information and more detail on the policy context can be found in the statistical release SDR 68/2011 (issued on 27 April 2011) which was based on the same underlying LLWR data.  Additional information is also included in Appendix A of the full publication to which the current release refers.   Other UK nations Examples of similar outputs from other UK nations include: England -   www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current/Northern Ireland - http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/statsandresearch/further-education-stats/further-education-enrolments-2/Scotland - www.sfc.ac.uk/web/FILES/ReportsandPublications/Facts_and_Figures_2010.pdf  Additional Information The full publication can be accessed via the Statistical Directorate site http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics.  Select ‘Publications’ from the left hand side of the page and scroll to ‘Post-16 education and training’. If you would prefer to receive a hard copy of the publication, please contact Post-16 Education Statistics: Telephone:    029 2092 6041 E-Mail:           Post16Ed.Stats@Wales.GSI.Gov.UK

Publication of: ‘Further education, work-based learning and community learning in Wales statistics 2009/10’

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