Adult Education Budget (2.1.1)
Adult Skills programmes are funded through the governments’ Adult Education Budget which is managed by the WMCA for residents within the seven Local Authorities.
Level
| Level | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
| Entry Level | 11,334 | 25.2% | 7,128 | 16.8% | 9,139 | 20.8% |
| Level 1 | 7,798 | 17.4% | 6,061 | 14.2% | 5,936 | 13.5% |
| Level 2 | 23,786 | 52.9% | 24,944 | 58.6% | 22,377 | 50.9% |
| Level 3 | 1,777 | 4.0% | 3,374 | 7.9% | 5,278 | 12.0% |
| Level 4+ | 15 | 0.0% | 205 | 0.5% | 407 | 0.9% |
| Other | 218 | 0.5% | 843 | 2.0% | 856 | 1.9% |
| 44,928 | 42,555 | 43,993 |
All CWM AEB funded adult learners
Over the past three years, there was a sharp increase in the number of learners in the WMCA region on programmes at Level 3 which now make up 15% of learners. AEB learning at Level 4 is growing most rapidly, but from a very low starting point.
| Level | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
| Entry Level | 9,808 | 32.2% | 6,335 | 23.3% | 7,821 | 26.0% |
| Level 1 | 5,780 | 19.0% | 4,361 | 16.0% | 4,657 | 15.5% |
| Level 2 | 13,212 | 43.3% | 12,543 | 46.1% | 11,835 | 39.3% |
| Level 3 | 1,468 | 4.8% | 2,899 | 10.7% | 4,563 | 15.1% |
| Level 4+ | 15 | 0.0% | 205 | 0.8% | 404 | 1.3% |
| Other | 211 | 0.7% | 841 | 3.1% | 852 | 2.8% |
| 30,494 | 27,184 | 30,132 |
Learners within the WMCA funded through AEB
| Level | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
| Entry Level | 1,526 | 11% | 793 | 5% | 1,318 | 10% |
| Level 1 | 2,018 | 14% | 1,700 | 12% | 1,279 | 9% |
| Level 2 | 10,574 | 73% | 12,401 | 86% | 10,542 | 76% |
| Level 3 | 309 | 2% | 475 | 3% | 715 | 5% |
| Level 4+ | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 0% |
| Other | 7 | 0% | ^ | 4 | 0% | |
| 14,434 | 15,369 | 13,861 |
Learners outside WMCA funded through AEB
Location
Looking at the local authority of AEB funded adults within the WMCA area, the greatest concentration is in the Birmingham area (14,322), followed by the four authorities within the Black Country, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Sandwell, which combined to make up a further 11,895 learners.
| Level | Birmingham 2021/22 | Coventry 2021/22 | Dudey 2021/22 | Sandwell 2021/22 | Solihull 2021/22 | Walsall 2021/22 | Wolverhampton 2021/22 |
| Entry Level | 4,779 | 626 | 618 | 365 | 217 | 696 | 520 |
| Level 1 | 2,214 | 420 | 490 | 350 | 147 | 427 | 609 |
| Level 2 | 4,728 | 1,089 | 1,207 | 1,117 | 760 | 1,383 | 1,551 |
| Level 3 | 2,085 | 293 | 743 | 496 | 239 | 356 | 351 |
| Level 4+ | 133 | 17 | 86 | 53 | 42 | 28 | 45 |
| Other | 383 | 34 | 75 | 66 | 51 | 79 | 164 |
| All | 14,322 | 2,479 | 3,219 | 2,447 | 1,456 | 2,969 | 3,240 |
AEB WMCA learners by level and Local Authority
Looking at trends in the shift towards higher level learning across the local authorities, the highest number of level 3 learners are resident in Birmingham (>2k) though the proportion of learners at this level is greatest in Dudley and Sandwell (23% and 20% respectively).
Sector
Analysis of learners by sector or subject area show that a number of learners enrol for programmes in more than one subject area.
CWM college adult learners on sector specific programmes (rather than basic skills) funded by AEB increased by 26% over the past three years.
Sectors which drew the largest number of learners were
Health, Nursing and Social Care with 11,609 learners in 2021/22, making up 28% of learners and seeing a growth of over 20% over the past three years.
Business, Administration and Law with 5,467 learners in 2021/22, making up 13% of learners and seeing a growth of 16% over the past three years.
Information and Communications Technology with 3,482 learners in 2021/22, making up 8% of learners and seeing a growth of 85% over the past three years.
Construction, Planning and the Built Environment with 3,208 learners in 2021/22, making up 8% of learners and seeing a growth of 67% over the past three years,
Of note is the rapid growth in Engineering (86%) which last year made up 4% of learners and Motor Vehicle and Transportation (145%) which last year made up 3.6% of learners,
When looking at WMCA residents within these numbers, the same profile of sector prominence is evident. However the growth in the proportion of learners on sector specific programmes was sharper at 43% and the proportion of learners on Construction and ICT programmes was higher (11.6% and 12.8% respectively).
| Sector specific subjects | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2021 proportion by sector | change over 3 years |
| 01. Health, Nursing and Social Care | 9,655 | 11,403 | 11,609 | 28.1% | 20.2% |
| 02. Public Services | 237 | 513 | 862 | 2.1% | 263.7% |
| 03. Child Development and Well Being | 707 | 912 | 948 | 2.3% | 34.1% |
| 04. Science and Mathematics | 464 | 438 | 456 | 1.1% | -1.7% |
| 05. Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care | 313 | 460 | 651 | 1.6% | 108.0% |
| 06. Engineering | 896 | 1,177 | 1,664 | 4.0% | 85.7% |
| 07. Motor Vehicle and Transportation | 608 | 977 | 1,492 | 3.6% | 145.4% |
| 08. Construction, Planning and the Built Environment | 1,917 | 2,306 | 3,208 | 7.8% | 67.3% |
| 09. Information and Communication Technology | 1,883 | 2,369 | 3,482 | 8.4% | 84.9% |
| 10. Retailing, Wholesaling, Warehousing and Distribution | 826 | 937 | 926 | 2.2% | 12.1% |
| 11. Hair, Beauty and Services | 1,179 | 1,266 | 1,097 | 2.7% | -7.0% |
| 12. Hospitality and Catering | 436 | 220 | 358 | 0.9% | -17.9% |
| 13. Sport, Leisure and Recreation | 835 | 605 | 258 | 0.6% | -69.1% |
| 14. Leisure, Travel and Tourism | 45 | 43 | 28 | 0.1% | -37.8% |
| 15. Performing Arts | 555 | 580 | 76 | 0.2% | -86.3% |
| 16. Media and Communication | 106 | 155 | 258 | 0.6% | 143.4% |
| 17. Art and Design | 459 | 312 | 466 | 1.1% | 1.5% |
| 18. Education, Humanities, Languages, Social Sciences and General Education | 2,195 | 1,993 | 2,031 | 4.9% | -7.5% |
| 19. Preparation for Life and Work | 8,578 | 5,851 | 6,044 | 14.6% | -29.5% |
| 20. Business, Administration and Law | 4,700 | 5,796 | 5,467 | 13.2% | 16.3% |
| 36,594 | 38,313 | 41,381 | 13.1% |
CWM adult learners by subject
Over 23,000 learners were enrolled on basic skills programmes to help with literacy, English language and maths, including programmes working towards a GCSE qualification. Overall the number of AEB funded basic skills learners dropped by 4.5% over the three year period.
Maths programmes was the biggest sub-section (36%), with English and English Language (ESOL) in roughly equal amounts.
| English, Maths, English Language | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2021 proportion by subject | change over 3 years |
| GCSE English | 1,579 | 1,540 | 1,334 | 5.8% | -15.5% |
| Basic Skills English | 5,978 | 5,192 | 5,972 | 25.8% | -0.1% |
| GCSE Maths | 1,952 | 2,061 | 1,939 | 8.4% | -0.7% |
| Basic Skills Maths | 6,412 | 5,951 | 6,512 | 28.1% | 1.6% |
| English Language | 8,349 | 6,076 | 7,423 | 32.0% | -11.1% |
CWM adult basic skills learners
Within the WMCA area the patterns are similar.
| Subject | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2021 proportion by sector | change over 3 years |
| 22. GCSE English | 1,244 | 1,137 | 1,018 | 5.3% | -18.2% |
| 23. Basic Skills English | 4,380 | 3,910 | 4,548 | 23.7% | 3.8% |
| 24. GCSE Maths | 1,508 | 1,439 | 1,414 | 7.4% | -6.2% |
| 25. Basic Skills Maths | 5,270 | 4,653 | 5,106 | 26.6% | -3.1% |
| 26. ESOL | 7,857 | 5,704 | 7,082 | 36.9% | -9.9% |
WMCA adult basic skills learners
Advanced Learner Loans (2.1.2)
In 2021/22 some 2,394 learners at CWM colleges self-funded their learning through an Advanced Learner Loan (ALL).
Against a backdrop of rapid increases in the number and proportion of CWM learners studying at level 3 and above over the past three years, the number of learners choosing to fund their studies through an Advanced Learner Loan is declining year-on-year, both within the WMCA area and also outside the WMCA, though at a much slower rate.
| All ALL | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 3 year change |
| All CWM | 4,023 | 3,336 | 2,394 | -40% |
| In WMCA | 2,748 | 2,021 | 1,254 | -54% |
| Outside WMCA | 1,275 | 1,315 | 1,140 | -11% |
Over the past three years the balance between the use of the funding streams has switched. In 2019/20, ALL funded learners at Level 3+ outnumbered AEB funded learners by 2.25:1, by 2021/22 AEB learners outnumber ALL funded learners by almost 2:1.
| All CWM learners Level 3+ | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | % change over 3 years |
| AEB | 1,792 | 3,579 | 5,685 | 217% |
| ALL | 4,023 | 3,336 | 2,394 | -40% |
CWM learners at Level 3 by funding
Level
Over the period, the number of learners using their ALL to study at Level 4 has increased.
| Level | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
| Level 3 | 3,608 | 89.7% | 2,907 | 87.1% | 1,988 | 83.0% |
| Level 4+ | 415 | 10.3% | 429 | 12.9% | 406 | 17.0% |
| 4,023 | 3,336 | 2,394 |
CWM Advanced Learner Loan Learners
| Level | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
| Level 3 | 2,533 | 92.2% | 1,784 | 88.3% | 1,025 | 81.7% |
| Level 4+ | 215 | 7.8% | 237 | 11.7% | 229 | 18.3% |
| 2,748 | 2,021 | 1,254 |
Advanced Learner Loan Learners within WMCA
| Level | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
| Level 3 | 1,075 | 84.3% | 1,123 | 85.4% | 963 | 84.5% |
| Level 4+ | 200 | 15.7% | 192 | 14.6% | 177 | 15.5% |
| 1,275 | 1,315 | 1,140 |
Advanced Learner Loan Learners outside WMCA
Location
| LA | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | % change over 3 years |
| Birmingham | 1,175 | 740 | 447 | -65% |
| Coventry | 230 | 252 | 149 | -35% |
| Dudley | 316 | 258 | 160 | -49% |
| Sandwell | 271 | 187 | 101 | -63% |
| Solihull | 157 | 108 | 51 | -68% |
| Walsall | 284 | 212 | 159 | -44% |
| Wolverhampton | 315 | 264 | 187 | -41% |
| 2,748 | 2,021 | 1,254 | 46% |
Free Courses for Jobs (2.1.3)
Free Courses for Jobs funding was introduced nationally in 2020/21 to provide short programmes at Level 3.
Between 2020/21 and 2021/22 the number of learners accessing the funding increased by 356% to 1,135.
Location
The year-on-year growth was slightly higher within the WMCA local authorities with the greatest growth in the Black Country, notably Dudley.
| LA | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | % increase |
| Birmingham | 93 | 247 | 166% |
| Coventry | 0 | 59 | n/a |
| Dudley | 7 | 106 | 1414% |
| Sandwell | 10 | 79 | 690% |
| Solihull | ^ | 30 | |
| Walsall | 22 | 103 | 368% |
| Wolverhampton | 11 | 99 | 800% |
| All WMCA postcodes | 146 | 723 | 395% |
Sector
More than half of FCfJ learners are studying for the Health and Care industry.
