All CWM learners in the reports are funded through the Education and Skills Funding Agency, which funds learning up to the age of 19.

Learner numbers

• In the 2022/23 academic year, 43,095 young people were enrolled at CWM colleges which was roughly in line with the previous year having fallen from a high of 44,369 in 2020/21.
• About 30% of CWM college 16-19 learners reside outside the WMCA and 70% within the seven WMCA local authority areas.
• In 2022/23 just under 28% of CWM college 16–19-year-olds lived in Birmingham. The numbers of young people at CWM colleges who live in Birmingham and Coventry are declining year-on-year for the past four years, whereas the numbers in Sandwell, Solihull and Wolverhampton have increased year-on-year. Numbers of 16-19 learners residing in Walsall and Dudley are stable.

T Levels

• The number of learners on T Level provision has grown from 82 in 2020/21 to 582 in 2022/23. The rate of growth in T Level learners was double outside the WMCA area which saw 100% growth from a very low base in 2020/21.
• The most prevalent T Levels in 2022/23 were Education and Childcare (184), Digital Production (105), Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction (92), Health (74) and Digital Support (47).
• The gender split of T Level learners was roughly equal in 2022/23, following a strong increase in females undertaking T Levels since 2020 when they made up just 40% of learners. By contrast 64% of A Level learners were female.
• The proportion of T Level learners who are White decreased from 72% in 2020/21 to 67% in 2022/23. 61% of A Level learners are from a BAME background.

Level of learning

• Just over half of learners (51%) were studying at level 3, up a few percentage points in the four years since 2019/20, though down from 53% in 2021/22.
• Consistently around 7-8% of learners residing in the WMCA area are at entry level and this is consistently lower, at 6-7% of learners, for those residing outside the WMCA area.
• The subject areas where over 70% of learners are at level 3 are Sport, Public Services, Performing Arts, Media, Leisure, Travel and Tourism and Art and Design.

Subjects and sectors

• The subject area attracting the highest number of learners is Construction which enrolled 4,919 learners in 2022/23, marking an overall 12% increase over the past four years, despite a dip of 3% from 2021/22.
• Overall there was a drop over the past four years in engineering students to 1,820 and in ICT students to 2,087. Meanwhile the numbers in Art and Design increased to 3,106 over the same period and the numbers studying Health, Nursing and Social care remained stable at around 3,710. The greatest increase was seen in students on courses in the Preparation for Life and Work subject area which grew by 13% to 4,229.

Gender

• The gender split for all CWM 16-19 learners is 47% female to 53% male, with no significant difference within or outside the WMCA patch.

Ethnicity

• The areas served by CWM FE colleges are ethnically diverse. Overall 64% of 16-19 students at CWM colleges identify as White and this rises to 89% in areas outside of the WMCA area.
• The profile of residents within the WMCA is more diverse with 53% White, 22% Asian, 11% Black and 8% Mixed Heritage.

LLDD/SEND

• The proportion of 16-19 learners declaring Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities or medical conditions (LLD/D) residing outside the WMCA is 34%, and 8% have high needs funding. Students with LLD/D make up 70% of learners on Preparation for Work and Life courses.
• Within the WMCA area 23% of learners have LLD/D and 6% of learners have high needs funding. They make up 48% of learners on Preparation for Work and Life courses. The local authority with the lowest proportion of learners declaring LLD/D is Sandwell at 15% and 4% of Sandwell 16-19 learners have high needs funding.

Deprivation

• Overall 16-19 participation in college provision reflects the local profile in terms of deprivation. In the WMCA area 34% of learners are in the most deprived areas which reflects the local population. However in the areas outside the WMCA patch where 10% of 16-19 students are from the most deprived areas and the local population indicates that 25% of young people live in these areas.