Pathways & Participation Insights
Findings from the Department for Education participation data for young people aged 16 to 21 in England. Each Insight sets out what the data show, what might explain it, and – always – what the data cannot tell us.
Participation does not decline steadily from 16 to 21 — it falls off a cliff at 18Between 17 and 18, the share of young people in England in education or an apprenticeship drops by more than a quarter. A second, smaller fall follows at 21.Fewer young people are on apprenticeships than in 2015 — and they are doing different onesApprenticeship participation among 16–21 year olds in England has fallen by around a fifth since 2015. Intermediate apprenticeships have collapsed; degree apprenticeships have gone from almost nothing to more than 26,000.
Explore the data behind these findings
Open the Explorer →Participation, provision and NEET for ages 16 to 21, with the source, population and age definition on every chart.