Title

Learner Numbers by Age, Ethnicity and Gender

Last update

27 February 2024 27 February 2024

Next update

February 2025

Publishing organisation

Welsh Government

Source 1

Lifelong Learning Wales Record, Welsh Government

Contact email

post16ed.stats@gov.wales

Designation

National Statistics

Lowest level of geographical disaggregation

Wales

Geographical coverage

Wales

Languages covered

English only

Data licensing

You may use and re-use this data free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government License - see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence

General description

1. This table contains data on Further Education, Community Learning and Work-based Learning (WBL) provision in Wales from Welsh Government funded providers. FEI and CL data are included from 2003/04 but information on provision by other work-based learning providers is included from 2004/05. Data are taken from the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR), which is now the sole data collection method from Further Education, Community Learning and other training providers
2. This table presents information on distinct learners.
3. The LLWR is a live, event-driven database that is maintained continuously. Monthly freezes of data are taken for funding and statistical purposes.
4. Some FE institutions include subsidiary work-based learning providers.
5. Community Learning is a broad definition that can encompass, for instance, provision at FEI outreach centres, ABE and ESOL. This table only covers Local Authority community learning provision.
6. Comparisons across years should be made with caution because of differences in population definitions across time and questions should be directed to the Post-16 Education Statistics section. The WBL component of the 2003/04 figures includes WBL at FEIs but excludes WBL at other training providers whereas later years include both. FE learners at Merthyr Tydfil College are included up to 2005/06 but excluded from 2006/07 to 2011/12, following the merger of the college into the University of Glamorgan. From 2012/13 onwards, Merthyr Tydfil College is included in the data once more. Welsh for Adults enrolments (other than at the Coleg Gwent Centre) are excluded from 2007/08 onwards. The inclusion of Higher Education provision within FEIs has also changed over time, franchised HEI has been excluded historically, additionally new HEFCW funded programmes are now collected through HESA rather than LLWR data.
7. In addition to the changes across time referred to in note 6, an adjusted population has been introduced from 2006/07 onwards. This has two aspects: (a) it uses the earlier of two end date types now available on the LLWR in deriving WBL numbers; (b) it disregards learning activities with a very large gap between expected end date and actual end date.


Presentation
8. Data are presented both on a full academic year basis (August to July) and as a snapshot for the week of 1st December of the academic year presented. Ages are presented as at 31 August near the start of the academic year. The all persons total includes a small number of learners not identifying as male or female.

9. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and therefore there may be apparent slight discrepancies between the sum of the constituent items and the total.


Dimension level

Age:
Age as at 31 August (end of first month) of the academic year
Reference date:
Data are presented either as a snapshot at the week of December 1st during the academic year or as an all-year count.
December 1st: Snapshot of learners/programmes/activities enrolled during the week of December 1st
All: Count of learners/programmes/activities throughout the academic year

Mode:
Full-time, part-time or work-based learning. See item notes.

Provision_provider (description: Provider type)
WBL at Other Training Providers: WBL provision submitted to the LLWR by a WBL provider. Omitted from the LLWR for 2003/04 therefore not comparable over time
FE at FEIs: Further Education provision at Further Education institutions.
HE at FEIs: Higher Education provision at Further Education institutions.
Community Learning at FEIs: Community Learning provision enrolled through an FE institution but delivered by a Local Authority (contracted-in provision).
Community Learning at Local Authorities: Community Learning provision enrolled through a Local Authority (maintained or contracted-out provision).
WBL at FEIs: WBL provision at Further Education institutions.


Provision_type (description: Type of provision)
Type of learning provision (FE, HE, Community Learning or WBL). The provision type is determined at the learning programme level. Note that this is not a funding report and definitions can differ from those used for funding purposes.
Further Education: Provision submitted to the LLWR by an FE provider excluding: learning programmes categorised as HE or WBL; and learning delivered by a Local Authority via a subcontracted arrangement with an FE provider.
Community Learning: Provision submitted to the LLWR by a Local Authority directly or by an FE provider but where the learning is delivered by a Local Authority through a partnership, franchise or subcontracted arrangement.
Higher Education: Comprises learning programmes categorised as higher education.
Work-based learning: Provision defined as that submitted to the LLWR by a WBL provider; or comprising a WBL designated learning programme. WBL at OTPs omitted from the LLWR for 2003/04 therefore not comparable over time.

Qualification Levels:
This refers to the level of highest qualification achieved prior to the commencement of the learning programme. Data is presented in the form of NVQ Level equivalents.

Disability:
This is shown in the form of disabled, not disabled or not known, based on the student's own assessment. No further breakdowns of disability are provided here.

Ethnicity:
Ethnic origin of the learner (self-described).

Programme Type:
This denotes a learner's main type of learning. Where the learner is undertaking more than one type of learning within a programme (e.g. Curriculum 2000 + GCSE), the principle learning programme is counted. If entirely separate qualifications are being taken the learner's details will be recorded twice.

Credit Level:
Credit Level of learning activity described using the Credit and Qualification Framework for Wales (CQFW) level descriptors.

Language - medium of learning provision
Based on categorisation of class types.

Qual type:
Qualification type of the learning activity.

Subject:
Subject of learning activity using broad groups within the Learning Direct classification system.

Data collection and calculation

From 2016/17 onwards all data in the table is calculated using the month 5 freeze of the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR). This freeze is produced close to the end of the December after the academic year in question finishes. For example, the freeze containing the 2022/23 data was taken close to the end of December 2023.
Prior to 2016/17 data in the table was calculated using the month 7 freeze of the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR). This freeze was produced close to the end of the February after the academic year in question finishes. For example, the freeze containing the 2015/16 data was taken close to the end of February 2017.

Frequency of publication

Annual

Data reference periods

Data in the table is presented on an academic year basis, which runs from 1st August - 31st July. Data for both full-year provision and those in learning during the week of December 1st are available.

Users, uses and context

The data in this table are used both within and outside the Welsh Government to monitor educational trends and as a baseline for further analysis of the underlying data. Some of the key users are:

Ministers and the Members Research Service in the National Assembly for Wales
Officials in the Welsh Government
Other government departments
Further Education Institutions, Work-Based Learning providers and local authorities
Estyn, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education and Training in Wales
Students, researchers, and academics
Individual citizens, private companies, and the media

These statistics are used in a variety of ways. Some examples of these are:

General background and research
Inclusion in reports and briefings
Advice to Ministers
Informing and evaluating the education policy-making process in Wales

LLWR data are used to underpin funding and performance reports for learning providers, to calculate NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) figures and in student finance modelling.

Rounding applied

All figures in the table have been rounded to the closest multiple of 5. All non-zero values less than 5 have been suppressed and are denoted by an asterisk (*).

Revisions information

There have been no revisions to previously published figures.

Weblinks

http://gov.wales/statistics-and-research/further-education-work-based-learning-community-learning/

Statistical quality

Statisticians within the Welsh Government review the data and query any anomalies with the LLWR data collection team and, where relevant, with learning providers before tables are published. The LLWR data underlying this table are intended to be final, for non-funding purposes.

Keywords

Lifelong Learning Wales Record; LLWR; Further Education; FE; Community Learning; ACL; LACL; Work Based Learning; WBL; Apprenticeship; Apprenticeships; Post 16; P16

Name

EDUC0018