About the pilot

Learning and Work Institute has been selected as one of eight organisations to participate in the Department for Education’s (DfE) longitudinal education outcomes (LEO) pilot programme. LEO brings together administrative data on education, employment, benefits and earnings at an individual level. This experimental new data source allows individuals’ data to be linked across a range of administrative datasets, enabling the tracking of employment outcomes after periods of education.

The pilots represent a rare opportunity to access and analyse this data in order to address key questions about the impact of adult education and training. The pilot is running over two years from Summer 2020.

About the project

Despite ongoing reforms to the apprenticeship system, there are marked differences in participation rates for different groups. In particular, there is a continuing under-representation of individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and individuals with learning difficulties or disabilities (LDD). There is also significant variation in the earnings returns to different apprenticeship programmes. However, there is little current evidence on the returns to apprenticeships for different participant groups.

L&W will use LEO data to create new evidence on access and returns to apprenticeships for underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. We will undertake analysis of the factors that influence participation in apprenticeships and how earnings returns compare across different groups.

As apprenticeships continue to be a key part of the employment and skills system, it is vital that access widens so that no one who is able to undertake an apprenticeship is prevented from doing so. It is also important to understand the extent to which different groups can benefit from doing an apprenticeship, and to highlight any disparities that exist.