Learners and Apprentices Survey

Report authors Alex Thornton, Charlotte Witsø, Rebecca Menys, Sarah Hingley - Kantar Public; Professor Patrick Alexander

Published by Oxford Brookes University, Department for Education (November 2018)

Comprising 12,872 interviews of young people, this research aimed to provide a full and detailed picture of learners' and apprentices' journeys which can be broken down into three key areas: i) the learners' current and past socio-economic status, ii) their present perceptions, experiences and barriers to learning, and iii) their future outcomes.

A key objective was to understand how these experiences and perceptions varied by different groups, and for those from different socio-economic backgrounds. The research aimed to identify whether any groups were less likely to complete their apprenticeship or further education (FE) course, and to understand what barriers they faced, so these can be a key focus for intervention. This will allow DfE to carry out future analysis of learner outcomes, for example; to discover if completion of the course does increase social mobility, whether learners achieve their long-term objectives, and to gain a picture of the long-term outcomes for learners who do not complete their learning.