Apprenticeships are qualifications which combine paid work-based training with classroom-based study. They are open to all ages, but most people start them before the age of 24.

There are four different levels of apprenticeship. These start at Foundation Level (the equivalent of GCSEs) and rise to degree apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships are overseen by further education colleges and universities, with work-based training elements delivered by companies and other employers.

Apprenticeships have long been considered one of the main ways to ensure that young people remain in some form of work, education or training after leaving school.

They are also considered an important way to fill skill gaps in certain industries, which may not always suit academic qualifications (such as A-Levels and degrees), and are the main alternative to university study. As they are usually tied to a job placement, they can cut the cost of recruiting new staff.

In the previous term, the (then Labour-led) Welsh Government cut an original target of creating 125,000 apprenticeships to 100,000. Before the end of the term, the Welsh Government claimed it had reached the new target, but this was disputed by the UK Statistics Authority¹.

The previous Senedd’s Economy Committee concluded that more needed to be done to promote apprenticeships as a viable option to people considering higher-level study, and raised concerns about a drop in the number of people starting apprenticeships².

Around 19,000 apprenticeships are started each year; there’s a more detailed breakdown below.