Sex 

On average more male 16-19 learners participate in CWM college provision than female learners. 

This 55%/45% split is not evident across all subject areas and the profile varies significantly. 

The greatest imbalance is evident in the areas of typical stereotyping. 

Male dominated were Engineering (94%), Motor Vehicle (91%) and Construction (97%) and also ICT (93%). 

Female dominated were Health and Care (93%), Childcare (97%) and Hair and Beauty (86%). 

Ethnicity 

Across all locations, the CWM 16-19 cohort is comprised of 61% of students who identify as White and 34% identifying in one of the Asian, Black or mixed heritage groups. 

Looking at learners’ broad location, the profile of learners living in the WMCA is more diverse than those living outside with 50% of learners identifying as White and 43% as Asian, Black or of mixed heritage. 

In the areas outside the seven Local Authorities of the WMCA the profile is predominantly White with 87% of learners in that group. 

Within the seven WMCA Local Authorities, further differences are evident. Birmingham is the only authority with a majority of 16-19 learners identifying as Asian, Black or of mixed heritage. (61%). The next most diverse authority is Sandwell, followed by Wolverhampton. 

Solihull and Dudley have the least diverse student profile with the proportion of White learners at 78% and 76% respectively. 

The more detailed look at WMCA 16-19 learners shows that within the broad groupings, learners with an African heritage form the largest proportion of the Black group and learners identifying as Pakistani are the largest group of Asian learners by significant margin. 

Looking at level of learning, gender and ethnicity the following patterns are clear: 

Female learners who identify as Asian are the most likely to study at level 3 (68.3%) followed by those of mixed heritage (65.9%). 

63% of those in the Black/African/Caribbean group study at this higher level, 2.5% lower than White female learners. 

White females are the least likely to study at entry level (3.5%). 

Overall male learners are less likely to study at level 3 but the same pattern is clear where the highest proportion of level 3 learners are in the Asian and mixed heritage broad groups and While males are the least likely to study at entry level. 

Deprivation 

31% of all CWM 16-19 learners in 2021/22 lived in the most deprived areas. This rose to 39% in the case of residents in the WMCA and dropped to 9% for those living in outside areas. 

of CWM 16-19 learners in 2021/22 were from the most deprived areas, against a resident profile of 33% of that age group living in the most deprived areas. 

Within the seven Local Authorities, the proportion of 16-19 learners living in Band 1 ranged from 17% in Dudley to 59% in Birmingham. 

LLD/D status 

25% of 16-19 learners overall disclosed a learning difficulty or disability. The proportion was slightly lower for WMCA residents, and higher at 32% for those in outside areas. 

Overall 9% of CWM 16-19 learners have an EHCP, and the proportion is 8% for those in the WMCA and 12% for those living outside.  

The most popular subject sectors, after Preparation for Life and Work, were Performing Arts (13%), Hospitality ad Catering (12.7%) and Media and Communication (10.1%). 

A total of 2,692 16-19 learners at CWM colleges received High Needs funding in 2021/22. The proportion of those with High Needs funding was 8% in the case of young people living outside the WMCA authorities as opposed to 5% in the case of those living in the WMCA.