The female-led leadership team of IfATE (the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education) are calling for better representation across every sector. According to 2022/23 data, the number of women and men on apprenticeships is about 50/50 (51.2% for women and 48.8% for men), but men make up the majority of apprenticeship starts in construction and the built environment 92.0%, in engineering and manufacturing this is 91.3%, in transport and logistics this is 82.7%, in digital it is 69.6%. Women make up the majority of starts in education and childcare at 93.2%, hair and beauty at 93.5%, care service at 81.3%, and health and science at 74.4% and it’s been shown that businesses with a healthy balance of men and women are 15% more likely to outperform their competitors. There are still numerous actions employers can take to make apprenticeships and technical qualifications more inclusive to either sex where an imbalance exists. Click here for more.
