Participation in education, training and employment age 16 to 21
Participation in education and apprenticeships from DfE administrative data. It also includes NEET estimates from the LFS to give a full picture of activity.
- Published
Headline facts and figures
Overview of the 16 to 21 population
In this section, the England population is classified into one of the following four headline categories:
In education and apprenticeships:
This includes young people in full and part-time education or those on an apprenticeship. Further detail regarding mode of study, highest qualification aims, provider types, characteristics and geography can be found in additional sections.
(Estimated from DfE administrative data).
In wider training
This includes those in Employer Funded Training (EFT) or privately funded training outside of an apprenticeship classified as Other Education and Training (OET).
(Estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)).
Not in education or training (NET)
This includes young people not in education and apprenticeships, nor in wider training.
(Estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)).
In employment
This looks at those Not in Education or Training (NET) but in employment.
(Estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)).
Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)
This is all those young people not classified previously. Those NEET are either inactive in the labour market or unemployed.
(Estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)).
Ages 16 to 17
16 and 17 year olds are required to remain in education and training in England following Raising the participation age (RPA) in 2013.
Age 18
Administrative data for HE participation from the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) is not yet available for 2025. It will be included in the next publication of this release (expected June 2027). No overall participation estimates are shown for 2025 for age 18+ as proportions would be misleading due to this missing HE data.
Participation is a snapshot of activity at the end of the calendar year and includes participation from all providers including schools, further education/sixth form colleges, apprenticeships and higher education institutions.
Overall participation rates in Higher Education (HE) are published in Participation measures in higher education and should be used for official HE participation measures.
Ages 16 to 21
Not in education or training (NET)
In 2025:
- 27.8% of the age 16 to 21 England population were not in education or training.
- 27.1% of females and 28.5% of males.
Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS)
Official statistics in development . Age 19 to 21 participation data is included for the first time in this release and may be subject to some revisions.
Participation is a snapshot of activity at the end of the calendar year and includes participation from all providers including schools, further education/sixth form colleges, apprenticeships and higher education institutions.
Overall participation rates in Higher Education (HE) by age group, including by age 25 are published in Participation measures in higher education and should be used for official HE participation measures. See the ‘About this release’ section for further details.
Trends are comparable however numbers and proportions will differ (see ‘Other sources of participation and NEET estimates (opens in new tab)’ and accompanying methodology (opens in new tab)).
Administrative data for HE participation from the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) is not yet available for 2025. It will be included in the next publication of this release (expected June 2027). No overall participation estimates are shown for 2025 for grouped ages 16 to 21 as proportions would be misleading due to this missing HE data.
16 to 21 NOT in education and apprenticeships by characteristics and geography
The following featured tables are available using administrative data to look at numbers and proportions of the state-funded cohort at age 15 NOT participating in education and apprenticeships at ages 16 to 21:
Age 16 to 21 NOT in education or apprenticeships by characteristics
Age 16 to 21 NOT in education or apprenticeship rates by local authority and region, 2024
Underlying data also includes individual ages.
Headline tables
The following tables provide an overview of activities of young people aged 16 to 21 in England, categorised as: education and apprenticeships, wider training, not in education and training (NET), NET in employment, or not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Table 1 - Age 16 to 17 by sex (2015-2025)
Table 3- Age 18 to 21 by sex (2015-2025)
Table 4- Age 16 to 21 by sex (2015-2025)
Source: DfE administrative data and the labour force survey (LFS)
Featured tables are available for participation in education and apprenticeship by age, sex and:
- Provider type
- Highest qualification aim
- Characteristics for the cohort educated in the state-sector at age 15
- Local authority for the cohort educated in the state-sector at age 15
Source: DfE administrative data
You can explore these featured tables and build your own tables in the explore and download data section of the release.
Age 16 to 17 in education and apprenticeships
By individual age
16 to 17 year olds are required to remain in education and training in England following Raising the participation age (RPA) in 2013.
By sex
By provider type of those in education
The following chart looks at the provider type of those aged 16 to 17 in full or part-time education. This does not include apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships
By highest qualification aim
The following chart looks at the highest qualification aim at ages 16 to 17 of those in full or part-time education. This does not include apprenticeships.
By pupil characteristics (state-sector cohort)
There have been increases in the proportion of 16 to 17 year olds participating in education and apprenticeships across all the following characteristic groups at the end of 2025 compared with end 2024.
Overall, 88.2% of 16 to 17 year olds who were educated in the mainstream state-funded sector in year 11 were participating at the end of 2025. This is compared with:
- 84.8% of the most deprived
- 80.7% of those with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
- 80.7% of those eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)
- 80.6% of disadvantaged pupils
- 74.8% who had not achieved overall level 2 by age 15
- 76.6% who had not achieved level 2 in English language and maths by age 15
Note- breakdowns by characteristics are for the cohort of young people educated in the state-sector at age 15 so numbers and participation rates will differ to those in the full national cohort. Trends are however comparable and the national and state-funded estimate of the proportion of 16 to 17 year olds participating at the end of 2025 are both 88.2%. (see section 'About this release' for more detail)
Participation gaps refer to the difference in education and apprenticeship participation rates between one characteristic group and another.
By geography
Breakdowns by local authority are for the cohort of young people educated in the state-sector at age 15 and the local authority is that at age 15.
Underlying data is available showing local authority participation in education and apprenticeships by provider type, highest qualification aim and by pupil characteristics. This data is available in the explore and download data section of the release.
Age 18 in education and apprenticeships
Data from schools, further education providers, and apprenticeships is available for 2025 and given as appropriate. Data from higher education providers is not yet available for end 2025 so when the latest year is stated this refers to end 2024.
Overall participation rates are given for end 2024 in order to give a complete picture at age 18.
Participation is a snapshot of activity at the end of the calendar year and includes participation from all providers including schools, further education/sixth form colleges, apprenticeships and higher education institutions.
Overall participation rates in Higher Education (HE) by age group, including by age 25 are published in Participation measures in higher education and should be used for official HE participation measures. See the ‘About this release’ section for further details.
Trends are comparable however numbers and proportions will differ (see ‘Other sources of participation and NEET estimates (opens in new tab)’ and accompanying methodology (opens in new tab) ).
By sex
In 2024, 58.3% of the age 18 population were estimated to be participating in education and apprenticeships compared with:
- 61.3 % of females
- 55.6% of males
Participation rates for both males and females increased between 2023 and 2024 at age 18.
By provider type of those in education
The following chart looks at the provider type of those aged 18 in full or part-time education. This does not include apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships
By highest qualification aim
The following chart looks at the highest qualification aim at age 18 of those in full or part-time education. This does not include apprenticeships.
For those young people aiming for a higher education qualification at level 4 or above these are shown only as ‘Level 4 or above’ and referred to as ‘higher education (HE) qualifications’.
By pupil characteristics (state-sector cohort)
The proportion of 18 year olds participating in education and apprenticeships declined for males but increased for females between 2023 and 2024. Participation for those with special educational needs (SEND) decreased, while rates for those with higher prior attainment increased.
Overall, 52.5% of 18 year olds, who were educated in the mainstream state-funded sector in year 11, were participating at the end of 2024. This is compared with:
- 50.9% of the most deprived
- 49.0% of those with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
- 46.1% of those eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)
- 46.3% of disadvantaged pupils
- 38.7% who had not achieved overall level 2 by age 15
- 40.5% who had not achieved level 2 in English language and maths by age 15
Note - breakdowns by characteristics are for the cohort of young people educated in the state-sector at age 15 so numbers and participation rates will differ to those in the full national cohort. Trends are however comparable and the national and state-funded estimate of the proportion of 18 year olds participating at the end of 2024 is 58.3% for the national cohort and 52.5% for the state sector (see section 'About this release' for more detail).
By geography
Age 18 local authority level participation rates are shown in the table. The chart shows regional rates.
Breakdowns by local authority are for the cohort of young people educated in the state-sector at age 15 and the local authority is that at age 15.
Underlying data is available showing local authority participation in education and apprenticeships by provider type, highest qualification aim and by pupil characteristics. This data is available in the explore and download data section of the release.
Age 18 to 21 in education and apprenticeships
Data from schools, further education providers, and apprenticeships is available for 2025 and given as appropriate. Data from higher education providers is not yet available for end 2025 so when the latest year is stated this refers to end 2024.
Overall participation rates for the age 18 to 21 group are given for end 2024 in order to give a complete picture.
Official statistics in development. Age 19 to 21 participation data is included for the first time in this release and may be subject to some revisions. We welcome feedback on this new content at post16.statistics@education.gov.uk.
Participation is a snapshot of activity at the end of the calendar year and includes participation from all providers including schools, further education/sixth form colleges, apprenticeships and higher education institutions.
Overall participation rates in Higher Education (HE) by age group, including by age 25 are published in Participation measures in higher education and should be used for official HE participation measures. See the ‘About this release’ section for further details.
Trends are comparable however numbers and proportions will differ (see ‘Other sources of participation and NEET estimates (opens in new tab)’ and accompanying methodology (opens in new tab) ‘).
By individual age
Age 18 is the first year in England where young people are not subject to legislation requiring them to participate in education or training. Participation in education and apprenticeship rates are therefore notably different for this older 18 to 21 age group.
As at end 2024:
- Age 16 to 17, 87.9%
- Age 18 to 21, 51.8%
By sex
By provider type of those in education
The following chart looks at the provider type of those aged 18 to 21 in full or part-time education. This does not include apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships
By highest qualification aim
The following chart looks at the highest qualification aim at ages 18-21 of those in full or part-time education. This does not include apprenticeships.
For those young people aiming for a higher education qualification at level 4 or above these are shown only as ‘Level 4 or above’ and referred to as ‘higher education (HE) qualifications’.
By pupil characteristics (state-sector only)
The proportion of 18 to 21 year olds participating in education and apprenticeships has remained fairly stable across all characteristic groups at the end of 2024 compared with end 2023. However, participation rates for those with higher prior attainment have increased.
Overall, 45.0% of 18 to 21 year olds who were educated in the mainstream state-funded sector at age 15 were participating at the end of 2024. This is compared with:
- 35.7% of those with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
- 40.7% of the most deprived
- 36.1% of those eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)
- 35.7% of disadvantaged pupils
- 25.0% who had not achieved overall level 2 by age 15
- 27.2% who had not achieved level 2 in English language and maths by age 15
Note - breakdowns by characteristics are for the cohort of young people educated in the state-sector at age 15 so numbers and participation rates will differ to those in the full national cohort. Trends are however comparable and the national and state-funded estimate of the proportion of 18 to 21 year olds participating at the end of 2024 is 51.8% for the national cohort and 45.0% for the state sector (see section 'About this release' for more detail).
By geography
Age 18 to 21 local authority level participation rates are shown in the table. The chart shows regional rates.
Breakdowns by local authority are for the cohort of young people educated in the state-sector at age 15 and the local authority is that at age 15.
Underlying data is available showing local authority participation in education and apprenticeships by provider type, highest qualification aim and by pupil characteristics. This data is available in the explore and download data section of the release.
About this release
Data sources
These are the Department for Education's official measures for 16 to 21 year olds participating in education and apprenticeships.
Information is drawn together from various post-16 data sources to give a coherent and comprehensive picture of participation. Sources include:
Administrative data to estimate education and apprenticeship participation from:
- Schools (school census)
- Further education providers (individualised Learner Record (ILR))
- Apprenticeships (Individualised Learner Record (ILR))
- Higher education (HESA)
These administrative sources are matched together to create the Young Persons Matched Administrative Dataset (YPMAD).
Labour Force Survey (LFS) to estimate:
- Wider training not captured in administrative data such as some employer or self funded training
- Employment rates
ONS population estimates and projections
- As the denominator for proportions participating and those NET and NEET
Together these sources are used to give a holistic picture of the activity of the 16 to 21 population including the measures Not in education or training (NET) and Not in education, employment or training (NEET) .
Caution when interpreting wider training, employment, NET and NEET estimates
Wider training and employment rates are estimated from the LFS. In recent years, most notably in 2022 and 2023, the ONS faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS, which has led to increased sampling variability which can impact on the accuracy of estimates. Some caution should therefore be taken when considering single age and single year estimates of proportions of young people in wider training, employment and NEET as these are estimated from the LFS.
Estimates from the LFS are Official statistics in development.
Time period
The estimates relate to a snapshot of activities at the end of the calendar year, and are based on academic age, defined as ‘age at the start of the academic year’ i.e. age as at 31 August.
Data is presented for the period 2015-2025.
Cohorts
The statistics are based on two cohorts as follows:
• An overall population cohort has numerators based on all young people captured in the administrative and survey datasets (not just those in the state-funded sector in year 11), and has a denominator based on the whole England population as estimated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). These estimates are published by sex, provider type and highest qualification aim and include wider training and employment estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
• The state-funded cohort is based on pupils recorded as being educated in mainstream state-funded schools at academic age 15 i.e. year 11 or the final year of secondary school. The state-funded cohort includes provider type and highest qualification aim and breakdowns by various pupil characteristics (as recorded at academic age 15), prior attainment at level 2 and by geographies based on the school location (at academic age 15).
There are differences for the all-institution and state-funded cohorts however trends are consistent (see following chart). Attainment for all-institutions, which includes young people in independent settings in year 11, is higher than those in mainstream state-funded only.
Participation rates
Participation in this release is a snapshot of activity at the end of the calendar year and includes participation from all providers including schools, further education/sixth form colleges, apprenticeships and higher education institutions.
Overall participation rates in Higher Education (HE) by age group, including by age 25 are published in Participation measures in higher education and should be used for official HE participation measures. It provides a cohort-based measure of participation, monitoring school cohorts of 15-year-olds through time to create a percentage of those who have participated in higher education (HE). It includes statistics on the proportion of people who have participated in HE by age 25, including those who are no longer actively in HE at age 25 but had participated in HE at a younger age. It also includes participation by other ages, as well as breakdowns by sex, free school meal eligibility, and level of study (levels 4 to 8).
Breakdowns included
The release includes full population analysis by single age, sex, type of learning, provider type and highest qualification aim.
Additional breakdowns of post 16 activity by pupil characteristics and geography are available for those young people educated in the English state-sector at age 15.
The release commentary focuses on:
- ages 16-17, those required to remain in compulsory education following RPA legislation
- age 18, the first year post compulsory education
- ages 18-21, to give a picture of young people in post compulsory education
Estimates for ages 19-21 are included for the first time in this release and are Official statistics in development.
The accompanying methodology provides information on the data sources, their coverage and quality, and explains the production process for the data.
Full methodology
For further background information on these statistics, including on the data sources, qualifications and the methodology, please see the accompanying methodology. Underlying data is also published alongside this release.
Feedback
We welcome feedback on any aspect of this publication at post16.statistics@education.gov.uk
Other sources of participation and NEET estimates
Participation and NEET figures are also published in other statistics releases. The table below provides a summary of the related releases.
| Title | This release: Participation in education, training and employment age 16-21 | Participation measures in higher education | NEET age 16 to 24 in England | Young people NEET in the UK | Local authority NEET and participation: Age 16-17, England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | Department for Education | Department for Education | Department for Education | Office for National Statistics | Department for Education |
| Status | Accredited Official Statistics | Official Statistics | Official statistics in development | Official statistics in development | Transparency data |
| Age range | 16-21 | 16-25 | 16-24 | 16-24 | 16-17 |
| Age type | Academic age[1] | Academic age[1] | Academic age[1] | Actual age | Academic age[1] |
| Country | England | UK | England | UK | England |
| Regional breakdowns | Yes (education and apprenticeships) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| LA breakdown | Yes (education and apprenticeships) | No | No | No | Yes |
| Data type | Mostly administrative | Administrative | Survey | Survey | Management information |
| Frequency of publication | Annually | Annually | Annually | Quarterly | Annually |
| Seasonally adjusted | N/A | N/A | No | Yes | No |
| When to use? | England participation figures, age 16-21 | UK HE initial entrants and estimated percentages of participation | England/regional NEET figures, age 16-24 (includes reasons NEET) | UK NEET figures, age 16-24 (published quarterly so often most timely) | LA/regional NEET (and participation) figures, age 16-17 (includes pupil characteristics) |
[1] Academic age is defined as ‘age at the start of the academic year’ i.e. age as at 31 August. Actual age is defined as ‘respondents age at the time surveyed’.
Sources
The Participation in education, training and employment statistics series are DfE’s (Department for Education’s) definitive statistics on participation in education and apprenticeships. As these estimates are based on administrative data reported by institutions, they are considered the most robust available.
DfE’s October to December NEET/NET estimates using the Labour Force Survey (usually published February/March each year) is survey data where NEET/NET status is self-reported by the young person.
Age 16-17 regional and local authority NEET estimates (opens in new tab) are published annually by DfE as transparency data. Figures on NEETs are provided as an average of December, January and February. This information comes from local authorities NCCIS systems (National Client Caseload Information System) . Some caution should be taken if using the NCCIS figures. This is due to the estimates being based on management information which means they are not produced to the same standards as official/National statistics. Also, the NCCIS figures include ‘not known’ activity, which results in some overestimation of NEET, as can be seen in the chart when comparing the NCCIS figures to the LFS and participation figures.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Participation in education, training and employment age 16 to 21 statistics and data:
Post-16 statistics team
Email: post16.statistics@education.gov.ukContact name: Sally Marshall
Press office
If you have a media enquiry:
Telephone: 020 7783 8300
Public enquiries
If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:
Phone: 0370 000 2288
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