Adults

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Young Asian apprentice at work on construction site with senior engineer. Outdoors
Portrait of Successful Black Male Chief Engineer Using Tablet Computer in Automated Robot Arm Assembly Line Manufacturing High-Tech Electric Vehicles.
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Overview

In 2024/25 the total number of adult learners across all funding streams,  was 51,391 which represented an increase of 1.8% on the previous year.  

Adult learners residing in WMCA areas made up 69% of all adult learners and the proportion living in outer areas was 31% 

The one-year growth of adult learners in the WMCA area was below the average for the whole West Midlands region at 1.4% and in outer areas the one-year growth was almost double at 2.7%. 

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Data Narrative

Funding Stream

Adult Learners benefitted from three funding streams: Adult Skills Fund (ASF) learners increased, Advanced Learner Loans (ALL) learners decreased, and Free Courses for Jobs (FcFJ) learners increased.

Adult Skills Fund

ASF continues to be the largest funding stream for adult learning. In 2024/25 the ASF funded 46,919 learners across the region, roughly 90% of all adult learners. 

In 2024/25 the one-year growth in ASF learners in the WMCA area was 1%, and the growth in ASF learners in outer areas was 3%.

Advanced Learner Loans (ALL)

  • In 2045/25 there were 955 adult learners self-funding their level 3 or level 4 learning programmes through ALL. This number represented a 27% decline on the previous year and continues the sharp downward trend in ALL numbers over the past five years from a high of 4,606 learners in 2019/20. 
  • The sharpest decline in ALL is in the WMCA areas where in 2024/25 numbers dropped by 35% to 296 and by 90% on the high of 2,936 ALL learners in 2019/20. 

Free Courses for Jobs

  • The number of adult learners funded through FcFJ is rising year on year.  
  • In 2024/25, the fifth year of this funding stream, some 3,517 adult learners were funded by FcFJ, an annual increase of over 25%.  
  • Over 80% of FcFJ learners reside in the WMCA areas. 

Level of Learning

In 2024/25 around 17% of ASF learners were at entry level and 16% at level 1, proportions which have not changed much since 2020/1. 

The majority of ASF learners are at level 2 and in 2024/25 the proportion was 49%. The proportion at this level has been declining year-on-year since 2020/21 when 58% learned at level 2. 

The number and proportion of adult learners at level 3 continues to rise incrementally year-on-year. Despite the sharp decline in Adult Learner Loan numbers, the total number of adults learning at level 3 and above has been more than compensated for by steady growth in learners at level 3+ in the main funding stream (ASF) and strong growth in Free Courses for Jobs learners at level 3.  

The proportion of ASF learners at level 3 or above was over 14% last year, a slight increase on the previous year, carrying on the steady growth of higher-level learning since 2020/21 when just 8% learned at level 3 or above. The growth in level 3+ ASF learners is more marked in the WMCA patch than in outer areas. 

Priority Sectors

  • Four sectors have been prioritised by CWM members, reflecting the regional priorities in the West Midlands. The volumes of adult learners in these sectors in 2024/25 were: 
  • Construction – 3,380 learners 
  • ICT and digital – 2,782 learners 
  • Motor Vehicle and transportation – 2,282 
  • Engineering – 1,240 

Construction

  • The main stream used to fund the 3,380 adult learners studying Construction in 2024/25 was ASF, which was used for 89% of learners in this sector. 90% of Construction learners were resident in the WMCA areas. 
  • Following a period of sustained growth over four years, the number of adult construction learners fell sharply in 2024/25 (by over 30%). The rate of decline was sharper (57%) in outer areas. 
Icon vector graphic of illustrations for contruction

Engineering

  • The main funding stream for adults studying Engineering is ASF which funded 96% of learners. The proportion of Engineering learners living outside the WMCA patch is greater than is the case with other sectors; 63% live in the WMCA authorities and 27% in the outer areas. 
  • The overall volume of adult learners on Engineering provision stood at 1,240 in 2024/25 which was 10% down on the previous year and carried on the downward trend since the high of 2022/23.  
  • All of the decline in ASF funded Engineering learners 2024/25 was seen in residents living in outer areas where the volumes dropped by 40%. By contrast, the number of WMCA residents on Engineering provision grew by 25% 
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Motor Vehicle

  • The majority (95%) of the 2,281 Motor Vehicle adult learners are funded through ASF funding and 85% of these learners reside in the WMCA areas. 
  • 2024/25 saw a decline of 24% in the volume of WMCA learners on Motor Vehicle provision, following four previous years of steady growth. In 2024/25 Motor Vehicle learners grew by 7% in outer areas.   
Icon vector graphic of illustrations for automotive engineering

ICT and Digital

  • In 2024/25 95% of the 2,782 ICT/Digital learners were funded through ASF and the remaining 5% were funded through Free Courses for Jobs, an increasingly important funding stream for this sector. 
  • Over 80% of adult learners studying ICT/Digital learners live in the WMCA patch. 
  • In 2023/24, following steady growth in the previous years, the number of AEB funded adult learners in ICT/Digital saw a decline of 29%. This downturn was partially corrected in 2024/25, and the region saw an overall increase of 14% in the number of ICT/Digital learners that year, with the strongest rate of growth in outer areas where the previous year’s decline was not so pronounced.
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For Employment Provision

  • All for employment provision for adult learners collectively increased to 8,058 learners in 2024/25, an increase of over 16% on the previous year. 
  • Free Courses for Jobs provision grew by over 25% on the previous year and SWAP provision grew by over 16% in the same period. There was a sharp fall in Construction Gateway and Sector Gateway funded learning. 
  • The priority sectors where for employment provision has been most focused are Construction and Motor Vehicle and Transportation, though both areas had fewer learners than the previous year, The sector that saw some growth in this type of provision was Engineering which was achieved through Bootcamp provision. 

Inclusion Trends

Ethnicity

Leaners shared data on their ethnicity at enrolment, using the categories in the Individual Learner Record (ILR). In this summary, data relating to the 19 ethnicity categories in the ILR were aggregated into four broad ethnicity groups: Asian, Black, Mixed Heritage and White. Learners in the ‘other’ category and those for whom ethnicity is not known are not included. 

The ethnic diversity of adult learners across the whole West Midlands region continues to increase slowly year-on-year. Looking at the four main broad ethnicity groups, there is a clear pattern where the number and proportion of White learners is decreasing and the number of learners in the Asian, Black and Mixed Heritage broad groups is increasing. 

There is a significant variation between the WMCA areas and the outer areas in terms of the ethnic profile and the rate at which change is occurring. In 2024/25 in the outer areas the proportion of learners identifying in one of the White groups was 80%, down from 85% in 2020/21. In the WMCA areas the proportion of adult learners identifying in a White group was 35%, down from 42% in 2020/21. 

The second largest broad ethnicity group in the WMCA areas was Asian learners at 25%, followed by those who identified in one of the Black groups at 21%. 

Sex

Female adult learners outnumber male learners, though the balance is slowly shifting year-on-year.

Within the WMCA areas, compared with outer areas, there are proportionally more males and fewer female learners. 

Disability, Learning Difficulty and Health Problems

Consistently around 15%–16% of adult learners consider themselves to have a disability and/or, learning difficulty and/or health problem. The proportions making a declaration is slightly lower in the WMCA areas compared with outer areas. 

Deprivation Profile

The deprivation profile of adult learners across the whole region in 2024/25 closely mirrored the profile of the resident profile across the whole region. 

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