Basic Skills Programmes (2.2.1)
English
Although overall last the number of adults taking GCSE English has dropped since 2019/20, there was an increase in GCSE English enrolments for residents living outside WMCA in 2020/21.
Last year, the number of adults taking basic skills qualifications in English increased in 2021/22 both for those living within the WMCA area and outside.
Mathematics
Adult learners studying for GCSE Maths is roughly stable over the past three years, with the greatest increase outside the WMCA area.
Adult learners studying for basic qualifications in maths increased slightly overall, with the biggest gains amongst those living outside the WMCA area where there were year-on-year increases.
English language (ESOL)
The number of adults studying on English language provision declined by 11% over the past three years.
The vast majority of CWM college learners studying on English language provision were resident within the WMCA region, with residents living in Birmingham making up about 65% of all WMCA resident enrolments.
Into Employment Programmes (2.2.2)
SWAPs
Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) were introduced in 2019/20 to provide short, focused training for people wishing to enter work. They work on the basis of a partnership between the college, the employer and the DWP team working with unemployed residents.
Over the past three years, the 17 colleges saw a growth rate of over 1000% in SWAP starts to 1,711 in 2021/22.
Level
The majority of SWAPs are at Level 2.
| Highest Level | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
| Entry Level | 31 | 107 | 108 |
| Level 1 | 54 | 266 | 525 |
| Level 2 | 63 | 412 | 717 |
| Level 3 | 0 | 97 | 278 |
| Level 4+ | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Other | 0 | 104 | 72 |
| 148 | 997 | 1711 |
Location
44% of SWAP learners are in Birmingham, followed by 53% across the Black Country.
| Location | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | % by LA |
| Birmingham | 103 | 265 | 755 | 44% |
| Solihull | 0 | 34 | 46 | 3% |
| Coventry | 0 | 10 | 11 | 1% |
| Dudley | 30 | 307 | 289 | 17% |
| Sandwell | 7 | 108 | 204 | 12% |
| Walsall | 6 | 96 | 158 | 9% |
| Wolverhampton | ^ | 177 | 248 | 14% |
| 146 | 997 | 1711 |
Sector
SWAP programmes are focused on the skills for a specific role in a sector. Data shows that some SWAP learners enrolled to more than one programme.
The sector that had the most enrolments was Engineering, followed by Retailing/Distribution, Public Services and Health and Social Care.
| By subject/sector | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | % by subect |
| 01. Health, Nursing and Social Care | 28 | 117 | 226 | 11.6% |
| 02. Public Services | 17 | 126 | 265 | 13.6% |
| 03. Child Development and Well Being | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0.8% |
| 06. Engineering | 4 | 117 | 619 | 31.7% |
| 07. Motor Vehicle and Transportation | 0 | 115 | 91 | 4.7% |
| 08. Construction, Planning and the Built Environment | 0 | 91 | 49 | 2.5% |
| 09. Information and Communication Technology | 0 | 83 | 13 | 0.7% |
| 10. Retailing, Wholesaling, Warehousing and Distribution | 0 | 138 | 517 | 26.5% |
| 12. Hospitality and Catering | 20 | 31 | ^ | |
| 13. Sport, Leisure and Recreation | 0 | 54 | ^ | |
| 18. Education, Humanities, Languages, Social Sciences and General Education | 0 | 98 | 158 | 8.1% |
| 69 | 970 | 1953 |
Construction Gateway
Location
In 2021/22, the second year of the Construction Gateway programme, over 1,000 leaners participated, over half of whom were in Birmingham.
| Location | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
| Other Areas | 6 | 33 |
| Birmingham | 421 | 579 |
| Coventry | 21 | 19 |
| Dudley | 47 | 112 |
| Sandwell | 64 | 93 |
| Solihull | 31 | 82 |
| Walsall | 33 | 47 |
| Wolverhampton | 106 | 104 |
| 729 | 1069 |
Sex
In 2021/22 5% of Construction Gateway learners were female, up from 3% the previous year.
| Sex | 2020/21 | % | 2021/22 | % |
| Female | 23 | 3% | 49 | 5% |
| Male | 706 | 97% | 1,020 | 95% |
| All | 729 | 1069 |
Ethnicity
Approximately half of Construction Gateway learners are White and 22% are from the broad grouping ‘Black/African/Caribbean/Black British’.
| Ethnicity | 2020/21 | % | 2021/22 | % |
| Asian / Asian British | 88 | 12.1% | 119 | 11.1% |
| Black / African / Caribbean / Black British | 153 | 21.0% | 234 | 21.9% |
| Mixed / Multiple ethnic group | 82 | 11.2% | 92 | 8.6% |
| Not Provided | 15 | 2.1% | 67 | 6.3% |
| Other ethnic group | 21 | 2.9% | 30 | 2.8% |
| White | 370 | 50.8% | 527 | 49.3% |
| All | 729 | 1069 |
Deprivation
In 2021/22 44% of Construction Gateway learners were resident in the most deprived areas of WMCA, down from 48% the previous year.
| Deprivation | 2020/21 | % | 2021/22 | % |
| Band 1 (Most Deprived) | 348 | 47.7% | 469 | 44.0% |
| Band 2 | 158 | 21.7% | 209 | 19.6% |
| Band 3 | 83 | 11.4% | 119 | 11.2% |
| Band 4 | 45 | 6.2% | 81 | 7.6% |
| Band 5 | 46 | 6.3% | 76 | 7.1% |
| Band 6 | 19 | 2.6% | 32 | 3.0% |
| Band 7 | 8 | 1.1% | 26 | 2.4% |
| Band 8 | 10 | 1.4% | 24 | 2.2% |
| Band 9 | 6 | 0.8% | 19 | 1.8% |
| Band 10 (Least Deprived) | 6 | 0.8% | 12 | 1.1% |
| Unknown | 0 | ^ | ||
| 729 | 1067 |
Sector Gateway
Location
In 2021/22, the second year of Sector Gateway short programmes, there was a 495% growth to 565 learners, of which 57% were resident in Birmingham.
| Location | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | % |
| Birmingham | 40 | 322 | 57.0% |
| Coventry | 0 | 3 | 0.5% |
| Dudley | ^ | 42 | 7.4% |
| Sandwell | 21 | 49 | 8.7% |
| Solihull | 6 | 35 | 6.2% |
| Walsall | 24 | 75 | 13.3% |
| Wolverhampton | 4 | 39 | 6.9% |
| 95 | 565 |
Level
The majority of SG programmes, where recorded, are at Level 1 and Level 2.
| Level | 2020/21 | % | 2021/22 | % |
| Level 1 | 65 | 68.4% | 140 | 24.8% |
| Level 2 | 0 | 0.0% | 203 | 35.9% |
| Level 3 | 0 | 0.0% | 40 | 7.1% |
| Other | 30 | 31.6% | 182 | 32.2% |
| 95 | 565 |
Sector
Sector Gateway learners had learning aims aligned to more than one sector area. The most prominent employment sectors were Public Services, Health, Nursing and Social Care and Business Administration.
| Subject | 2020/21 | % | 2021/22 | % |
| 01. Health, Nursing and Social Care | 0 | 281 | 24.4% | |
| 02. Public Services | 0 | 312 | 27.1% | |
| 06. Engineering | 0 | 51 | 4.4% | |
| 07. Motor Vehicle and Transportation | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| 08. Construction, Planning and the Built Environment | 0 | 18 | 1.6% | |
| 10. Retailing, Wholesaling, Warehousing and Distribution | 0 | ^ | ||
| 18. Education, Humanities, Languages, Social Sciences and General Education | 0 | 3 | 0.3% | |
| 19. Preparation for Life and Work | 33 | 33.7% | 375 | 32.6% |
| 20. Business, Administration and Law | 65 | 66.3% | 110 | 9.6% |
| 98 | 1150 |
Sex
The profile of the learners participating in SG programmes changed between the two years. Year one saw two thirds female learners and in the second year, two thirds were male. The reason is likely to be the expansion of subject areas in the second year.
| Sex | 2020/21 | % | 2021/22 | % |
| Female | 68 | 70.1% | 180 | 31.9% |
| Male | 29 | 29.9% | 385 | 68.1% |
Ethnicity
Just over half of learners participating in SG programmes across both years identified as being in an Asian, Black of Mixed Heritage group. In year two the proportion of those in ‘other’ groups or not disclosing increased slightly.
| Ethnicity | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | ||
| Asian / Asian British | 30 | 31.3% | 123 | 21.8% |
| Black / African / Caribbean / Black British | 15 | 15.6% | 131 | 23.2% |
| Mixed / Multiple ethnic group | 5 | 5.2% | 50 | 8.8% |
| Not Provided | 0 | 0.0% | 17 | 3.0% |
| Other ethnic group | ^ | 11 | 1.9% | |
| White | 46 | 47.9% | 233 | 41.2% |
Deprivation
A very high and increasing proportion of learners (49%) are resident in the most deprived areas of the region.
| Deprivation | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | ||
| Band 1 (Most Deprived) | 34 | 36.6% | 278 | 49.2% |
| Band 2 | 25 | 26.9% | 121 | 21.4% |
| Band 3 | 11 | 11.8% | 43 | 7.6% |
| Band 4 | 8 | 8.6% | 50 | 8.8% |
| Band 5 | 7 | 7.5% | 31 | 5.5% |
| Band 6 | 4 | 4.3% | 15 | 2.7% |
| Band 7 | 4 | 4.3% | 14 | 2.5% |
| Band 8 | ^ | 3 | 0.5% | |
| Band 9 | ^ | 7 | 1.2% | |
| Band 10 (Least Deprived) | 0 | 0.0% | 3 | 0.5% |
Vocational ESOL
In 2021/22, colleges started using a new code to record where provision to teach English language was vocational in nature. 495 learners had a Vocational ESOL aim.
Almost all