Learning programmes for adults range from a few weeks to two-years in length and are designed and delivered to meet labour market needs of the local businesses and the career interests of resident population. Programmes are for those looking to reskill or upskill, improve their life and career prospects or gain up-to-date skills to get back into work. Learners on Community Learning programmes are not included.

Adult number headlines

• There was a small decline in adult learners. In 2022/23 a total of 44,822 adults were on programmes funded through Adult Skills (AEB), Free Courses for Jobs funding or Advanced learner loans. This is down by 8% on the total number of adult learners in 2019 which stood at 48,924.
• Proportionally more learners studied at higher level. The numbers and proportion of learners studying at level 3 and level 4 are increasing year-on-year. Across all funding types, there were 5,563 adults at level 3 in 2019/20 and four years later this number stood at 8,197. Those at level 4 rose from 434 in 2019/20 to 921 in 2022/23.

Adult Skills (AEB)

• Gender – Across all learners 61% were female and 39% male. The predominance of females is more marked outside WMCA with 69% female and 31% male and within the WMCA 57% were female and 43% male.
• Ethnicity – Across all CWM colleges 53% of learners are White and 47% from a minority background. The proportion of BAME learners rises to 61% in the WMCA area and falls to 16% outside the area.
• Level – Over the past four years there has been an increasing shift towards higher level learning with level 4 provision increasing from 2% to 8% of provision and level 3 increasing from 4% to 13% of all provision.
• Sectors – The proportion of learning at level 3 and above is highest in the priority sectors – 26% of 3,613 construction learners, 21% of 2,467 Motor Vehicle and Transportation learners, 21% of 3,125 ICT learners and 12% of Engineering learners.
• ‘For employment’ provision in the West Midlands is growing. Over 3.600 adults were on SWAP, Sector Gateway, Construction Gateway or Bootcamp provision in 2022/23, double the numbers two years previously. SWAP numbers have levelled off at around 1,700. Gateway numbers have fallen in the last two years, but were more than compensated by the strong growth in Bootcamp provision. The most popular Botcamps were: Motor Vehicle and Transportation (145), Construction (120), Engineering (106).
• Within the WMCA area, 22%of AEB learners are on ESOL provision, which is down slightly since 2019/20. Outside of the WMCA area ESOL learners make up 4% of adult learners.

Free Courses for Jobs

• This new funding stream for level 3 was introduced in 2020/21. The number of learners in 2022/23 had grown to 1,605, up 544% since the modest start of 249 learners the first year. The rate of growth was greater within the WMCA are compared with the outside areas.

Advanced Learner Loans

• Numbers – In 2022/23 the number of learners studying with Advanced Learner Loans (ALL) was 1,724, down 58% from 4,159 in 2019/20. The rate of decline was sharper in the WMCA area (68%) compared with a drop of 39% in the areas outside the WMCA. Alongside a steady decrease in numbers, the proportion of learning at level 4 rose from 10% to over 20% in the same four years.
• Level – 18% of ALL provision in 2022/23 was at level 4 or above.
• Sectors – The sector which attracts the greatest number of ALL learners is Health, Nursing and Social Care. The year-on-year downward trend is evident in also seen in this sector, but the proportion at level 4+ increased from 9% to 41% over the last four years.
• Gender and ethnicity – ALL attracts predominantly female learners; 75% of ALL learners in 2022/23 were female, compared with 53% of AEB funded learners. A higher proportion of ALL learners are White (53%) compared with AEB funded learners (39%).

Deprivation

• Learners living outside the WMCA area are less likely to participate in adult provision if they reside in the areas of greatest deprivation. The proportion of adults living in the most deprived areas outside the WMCA is 22% and the proportion of adult learners in the same areas is 8-9%, with no difference for loan funded provision.
• By contrast, 28% of adults within the WMCA patch are said to reside in the most deprived areas and adults from those areas make up 41% of those on AEB funded provision, 37% of those on loan-funded provision and 28% of those on Free Courses for Jobs.