London Apprenticeships Mid-Year Update 2025/26

Benji Lahai-Taylor, Skills & Employment Insights Team, April 2026

This update shows provisional data on apprenticeships in London for the first two quarters of 2025/26 (August 2025 to January 2026). The information is based on data returned by providers in February 2026, offering an early insight into trends for the current academic year.

For a more comprehensive analysis and full-year data on apprenticeships, please see the Apprenticeship Update 2024/25.

To provide context, this update includes data from the same period (August to January) in previous academic years. As a result, the figures presented here differ from those found in full-year updates.

Throughout 2026, the Government is overhauling the Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy. From January 2026, only level 7 apprenticeships for young people aged 16 to 21, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) at the start of their apprenticeship, will be eligible for government funding; those aged 22 and over will not be eligible. In April 2026, new foundation apprenticeships will launch in hospitality and retail alongside the introduction of short, modular apprenticeship units to help employers upskill staff quickly in AI, clean energy and engineering. These reforms are happening in tandem with a wider youth employment drive aiming to create thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships, including incentives for employers to support young people into work. Future editions of this update will look into how these changes affect apprenticeships in London.

Summary of key points

In year provisional data shows that there were 25,230 apprenticeships starts in London for the first two quarters of 2025/26:

There was a large increase in apprenticeship starts in both London (15.0%) and across England (11.9%) compared to the same period in 2024/25, with the number in London rising from 21,940 to 25,230. London had 213 fewer starts per 100,000 working age population compared to the national average.
London continues to have the lowest rate of apprenticeship starts and achievements relative to its population size amongst all English regions.
The number of higher-level (Level 4 or above) apprenticeships continues to rise, with 55% of the starts being higher-level apprenticeships by mid-year 2025/26, compared to 50% by mid-year 2024/25. However, much of this rise is due to an increase in Level 7 apprenticeships which, from January 2026, are no longer available for government funding for those aged 22 and over who are not care leavers or do not have a EHCP plan.
The number of apprentices aged 25 and over has increased substantially compared to the previous year, up 29% to 14,640 from 11,380 during the same period in 2024/25. There has been a fall in those under 19, down 7.8% on the previous year.
There has been an increase in Business, Administration and Law starts, up 35% compared to the same period in 2024/25. Additionally, there has been a slight fall in Retail and Commercial Enterprise and Engineering and Manufacturing starts.

Headline statistics

By mid-year 2025/26, there were 25,230 apprenticeship starts in London. This is the most starts in the first two quarters of an academic year since before the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 402 starts per 100,000 Londoners which is less than the England average (615 starts per 100,000).