The civil service fell well short of hitting a Boris Johnson-era target of ramping up apprentice levels to 5% of overall headcount by this year, new data has confirmed.
A Freedom of Information Act response shows that the 2022 mandate from Conservative ministers was actually followed by a drop in apprentice numbers that meant just 2.4% of the civil service’s total headcount were categorised as apprentices by January this year.
The figures, obtained from the Cabinet Office by FE Week, showed that there were around 16,900 civil service apprentices in 2022, making up 3.3% of the total workforce. Numbers rose slightly in 2023, hitting 17,211 – however the proportion remained flat, likely because of increases in overall headcount.
Apprentice headcount dropped to 14,651 in 2024, closing the year at 12,943 – or 2.4% of the total workforce.
A departmental breakdown provided by the Cabinet Office showed HM Treasury was the biggest employer of apprentices as of January, when 8.2% of its 2,720 workforce were undertaking apprenticeships.
The figures showed that the Department for Education also hit the Johnson-era target, with 5.4% of its 8,185 staff categorised as apprentices.
At the other end of the scale, Ofgem and the Food Standards Agency had the lowest proportion of apprentices, with 0.9% and 0.8% respectively.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said the landscape for apprenticeships had moved on since the 2022 target was set.
“These figures are largely from the previous administration,” they said. “This government remains committed to apprenticeships as a vital pathway for developing the skilled workforce the civil service needs to deliver national renewal.”
FE Week said the FOI response also showed government had been unsuccessful in meeting the Social Mobility Commission’s national benchmark of having 39% of the apprentice workforce from a lower socio-economic background.
It said people from lower socio-economic backgrounds made up 36% of the civil service apprentice workforce for three years of the data provided and 35% for one year.