Methodology

Skills bootcamps starts, completions and outcomes

• Published: 18 September 2025

About these statistics

This release provides statistics on Skills Bootcamps starts, completions and outcomes in England as reported to the department by Skills Bootcamps providers.

Starts definitions for financial years before 2023-2024 can be seen here: Skills Bootcamps Starts: methodology - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK

We would welcome feedback on any aspect of these statistics - including how they are used. If you'd like to get in touch, please use the contact details available on the publication page

Data collection and methodology

Data was collected by the Department from each of the Skills Bootcamps providers. Providers were required to report on learner starts, completions and outcomes.

For Skills Bootcamps delivered via national contracts in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years, starts, completions and outcomes were derived from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). 

Background

What is a Skills Bootcamp?

Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview with an employer on completion. Find out more about Skills Bootcamps at this link: Skills Bootcamps - Skills for Life (opens in new tab). Skills Bootcamps were first launched in Autumn 2020. Delivered across 6 areas of England, they focused on digital skills including cyber security, coding, software development and engineering, data analysis and digital marketing. There were also some technical Skills Bootcamps in rail engineering, engineering construction, photonics, broadband installation, specialist welding and advanced brickwork. Data about this delivery (between September 2020 and March 2021) can be found at this link Skills Bootcamps outcomes, Financial Year 2020-21 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk). 

The model was expanded in the 2021-22 financial year (FY), to make Skills Bootcamps available across England in a wider range of skill areas including digital, technical (including engineering and manufacturing), construction, and skills that support the green economy. The model was further expanded in November 2021 to provide Skills Bootcamps in HGV driving, to help address the national skills shortage in this sector. Data about this delivery (between April 2021 and March 2022) can be found at this link Skills Bootcamps starts, Financial year 2021-22 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)

Alongside these data, DfE has commissioned an independent evaluation of Skills Bootcamps undertaken in FY2021-22  (opens in new tab) and FY2022-23 (opens in new tab).

In the 2023-24 financial year, Skills Bootcamps had two delivery routes: through DfE-managed national contracts or via grants to local authorities (including Mayoral Strategic Authorities where they existed).  It was the second year of delivery through grant funding to local authorities (including Mayoral Strategic Authorities) so there was a strong element of learning from delivery experience, alongside permitting up to 30% of funding to support delivery outside national priority sectors to support local growth clusters and sectors. 

Financial year 2020-2021

Validation checks were carried out on data returns including:

• Local areas, as part of their governance role, carried out checks on at least 10% of reported data to guard against fraud – this involved contacting learners for verification of reported outcomes.
• The Department carried out checks of a random sample on completion evidence for learners in each supplier  
   

Data were collected from each of the 48 Skills Bootcamp providers’ own records, and, as such, there are some inconsistencies in the way outcomes are reported between providers.

• Information on outcome was self-reported by participants and although there were some checks on a random sample of returns, it was not possible to verify every outcome.
• There were inconsistencies between providers in how outcome information was completed. Some providers only reported outcomes for those completing Bootcamps, while others reported data for all participants. This limits the scope of this publication to the numbers of learners reported, at a national level.
• There was a small amount of reporting which included outcomes for those not completing Bootcamps. Where identified, this has been removed from this publication, however it is possible that there are some reported outcomes in the data for those that started but did not complete a Bootcamp.
   

Defining completions and outcomes

A completion is defined as all training being completed by a learner, including any assessments and one of the following depending on the learner type: 

• For independent learners an offer of an interview for a vacancy which meets the relevant criteria.
• For self-employed learners written confirmation of how the Skills Bootcamp training has been or will be applied to enable them to secure new contracts.
• For co-funded learners an offer of a new role or responsibility within the current organisation.

Positive outcomes are defined as:

• Participant becoming or continuing in self-employment with new opportunities.
• Participant continuing in current employment with new or increased responsibilities.
• New employment (including full-time, part time, temporary or apprenticeship).
• Participant gaining new role with current employer.

Financial year 2021-2022

Defining Starts

Starts were defined for FY2021-22 courses by identifying records for each Skills Bootcamp for which a valid start date between 01/04/2021 and 31/03/2022 was recorded, along with a date when the provider received their first payment milestone.

For 2021-22 courses that were part of contracts extended from FY2020-21 and those that were delivered in cold spots and grants areas (areas where DfE identified gaps in provision in England where targeted recruitment took place), there was no payment milestone but there was a start date. However, there were cases where some learners had no logged start date, but had attendance, completion, or participation data recorded. Therefore, the methodology for a valid start was updated for these courses so that participants with attendance, participation or completion data were recorded as having a valid start. In other instances, learners had a start date but had been marked as “not offered a place”, so had not started the course and were therefore excluded from the starts figure. 

The starts figure for FY2021-22 was updated in September 2024 to reflect the change in methodology above, as well as the incorporation of a number of starts from providers that were not included in the initial release.

The methodology used to determine starts means that the reported figure is conservative. It is possible providers did not record all required  data for some starts which may mean the estimate is lower than the true figure.

Defining completions and outcomes

For Skills Bootcamps delivered via national contracts:

Completions and Outcomes were calculated based on the presence of the following conditions:

• Completions – The instance must be a valid start and have a date of when the provider was paid for Milestone 2 (completion milestone - paid to provider when the learner has completed their training).
• Outcomes – The instance must be a valid start and have a Milestone 2 payment date and a date of when the provider was paid for Milestone 3 (outcome milestone - paid to the provider when the learner achieves, and evidence is provided of a successful outcome). 

For Skills Bootcamps delivered via extended contracts and cold spots and grants areas:

For 2021-22 courses that were part of contracts extended from financial year 2020-21 and those that were delivered in cold spots and grants areas (areas where DfE identified gaps in provision in England where targeted recruitment took place), completions and outcomes were calculated based on the presence of the following conditions, as payment milestone data was not available:

• Completions – The instance must be a valid start and have answered “Yes” to the question “has the learner completed the course”.
• Outcomes – The instance must be a valid start and the provider must have demonstrated that the learner had achieved a new job or apprenticeship, progressed in their current job, gained new responsibilities, or obtained new business opportunities if self-employed.

For Skills Bootcamps in HGV courses:

For HGV courses, there were cases where learners started at one provider then completed their course at another. This is due to some providers stopping delivery of a HGV Skills Bootcamp, meaning learners moved providers to finish their course. Payment milestones were therefore spread between the providers involved in delivery of a learner’s course.

With this in mind, for HGV courses, completions and outcomes are counted independently and do not require a valid start or previous payment milestone to be valid:

• Completions – The instance must have a completion date for Milestone 2 (completion milestone - paid to provider when the learner has completed their training).
• Outcomes- The instance must have an outcome date of when the provider was paid for Milestone 3 (outcome milestone - paid to the provider when the learner achieves and evidence is provided of a successful outcome). 
   
   

Financial year 2022-2023

Defining Starts

In a change from 2021-2022, starts for Skills Bootcamps delivered via contracts were derived from the Individualised Learner Record in FY2022-2023. Starts for all other funding streams were defined by identifying records in two ways:  

1. Records with a participant start date between 01/04/2022 and 31/03/2023 and a first payment to the training provider made at any time.
2. Records with no participant start date listed but with a first payment to the training provider made at any time.

Skills Bootcamps that were delivered via contracts were derived from the Individualised Learner Record. For all other Skills Bootcamps, data were collected from provider's own records and compiled by DfE from individual provider submissions. Inconsistences and errors in the way starts data was reported between providers were identified. Data were therefore subject to a number of quality checks, including:  

• Data were cleaned to ensure consistent formatting for key variables, including National Insurance Number, postcode, name, and all start and payment dates.  
• Duplicate records were removed. 

Defining completions and outcomes

For Skills Bootcamps delivered via national contracts, extended contracts  and grants areas:

For Skills Bootcamps delivered via national contracts, completions and outcomes were derived from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). For courses that were part of contracts extended from financial year 2021-22 and those that were delivered in  grant areas, completions and outcomes were derived from provider submitted data. 

In all of these cases, completions and outcomes were calculated based on the presence of the following conditions:

• Completions – The instance must be a valid start and have a date of when the provider was paid for Milestone 2 (completion milestone - paid to provider when the learner has completed their training).
• Outcomes – The instance must be a valid start and have a Milestone 2 payment date and a date of when the provider was paid for Milestone 3 (outcome milestone - paid to the provider when the learner achieves, and evidence is provided of a successful outcome). 

For Skills Bootcamps in HGV courses:

For HGV courses, there were cases where learners started at one provider then completed their course at another. This is due to some providers stopping delivery of a HGV Skills Bootcamp, meaning learners moved providers to finish their course. Payment milestones were therefore spread between the providers involved in delivery of a learner’s course.

With this in mind, for HGV courses, completions and outcomes are counted independently and do not require a valid start or previous payment milestone to be valid:

• Completions – The instance must have a completion date for Milestone 2 (completion milestone - paid to provider when the learner has completed their training).
•  Outcomes – The instance must have an outcome date of when the provider was paid for Milestone 3 (outcome milestone - paid to the provider when the learner achieves and evidence is provided of a successful outcome). 
   

Financial year 2023-2024

In the 2023-2024 financial year, Skills Bootcamps were delivered nationally, through grants, and through extensions from the previous financial year for some national delivery and HGV courses. 

Data on starts, completions and outcomes is available from two sources.  All nationally delivered Skills Bootcamps (DPS1, DPS2, Wave 3 extensions) are recorded in the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). Data for Skills Bootcamps delivered via grant funding and HGV extensions from the previous financial year were collected using provider-submitted data sheets.

The ILR collects data for the further education (FE) funding year, which runs from 1 August to 31 July and is the principal source of data for DfE’s apprenticeship and FE and skills statistics. The ILR (opens in a new tab) (opens in new tab) is an ongoing collection of data about learners from training providers in the FE and skills sector in England. 

The ILR collects data for the academic year, which runs from 1 August to 31 July. The first return of data is in September (R01 collection), followed by monthly collections until August (R12). There are then two additional collections, R13 in September and R14 in October, which give providers time to record and return learning outcomes. The R14 collection is the final version of the data and is used to produce final statistics on the full FE academic year (August to July), released each November.

The latest data freeze schedule is included in the ILR standard file specifications and reference data. (opens in new tab)

Skills Bootcamps are delivered based on the financial year, rather than the academic year. A full financial year overlaps with two academic years, making it necessary to draw data from both academic years, to cover the 2023/2024 financial year. Outcomes can be recorded up to 6 months after a learner completes a Skills Bootcamp, this spans into the next academic year. As a result, final data for the 2023-2024 financial year for starts, completions and outcomes will not be confirmed in the ILR until November 2025, when the R14 return is complete. The 2023-2024 release will therefore be updated in Winter 2025 to reflect this additional data.

Data for Skills Bootcamps delivered via grant funding and HGV extensions from the previous financial year were collected using provider-submitted data sheets. This data is less standardised than the ILR, as it relies on manual entry by providers. As a result, submissions can be delayed or incomplete and require additional work to verify or gather missing information.

There is a data reconciliation process within DfE to ensure the accurate submission of learner records. This process includes the following key steps:

• HGV extensions: The latest datasheets have been confirmed with each provider, ensuring accuracy. Discrepancies and missing data have been addressed with support from the contract manager.
• Grants: Learner records in the datasheets have been compared against the Grant Management Plans (GMPs), which provide a record of Skills Bootcamps delivered. Grant areas submitted datasheets and GMP data until February/March, allowing reconciliation between the two sources. Discrepancies have been reviewed and resolved with input from grant managers.

The data sheets undergo a cleaning and recoding process to categorise entries into standardised formats. After this process, the cleaned data is merged with ILR records to produce the combined dataset for the full financial year.

Defining starts, completions and outcomes

Starts

Starts are defined in two ways:

1. Records with a participant start date between 01/04/2023 and 31/03/2024 and a first payment to the training provider made at any time.
2. Records with no participant start date listed but with a first payment to the training provider made between 01/04/2023 and 31/03/2024.

Skills Bootcamps that were delivered via contracts were derived from the Individualised Learner Record. For all other Skills Bootcamps, data were collected from providers’ own records and compiled by DfE from individual provider submissions. 

Completions and Outcomes

Completions and outcomes were calculated based on the presence of the following conditions:

• Completions – The instance must be a valid start and have a date of when the provider was paid for Milestone 2 (completion milestone - paid to provider when the learner has completed their training).
• Outcomes – The instance must be a valid start and have a Milestone 2 payment date and a date of when the provider was paid for Milestone 3 (outcome milestone - paid to the provider when the learner achieves, and evidence is provided of a successful outcome). 

For Skills Bootcamps in HGV courses:

For HGV courses, there were cases where learners started at one provider and completed their course at another. This is due to some providers stopping delivery of a HGV Skills Bootcamp, meaning learners moved providers to finish their course. Payment milestones were therefore spread between the providers involved in delivery of a learner’s course.

With this in mind, for HGV courses, completions and outcomes are counted independently and do not require a valid start or previous payment milestone to be valid:

• Completions – The instance must have a completion date for Milestone 2 (completion milestone - paid to provider when the learner has completed their training).
• Outcomes – The instance must have an outcome date for when the provider was paid for Milestone 3 (outcome milestone - paid to the provider when the learner achieves and evidence is provided of a successful outcome). 

HGV courses are included in the ILR, grants and extensions data, and have been flagged by the data team accordingly.

Help and support

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Skills Bootcamps

Email: olivia.garbutt@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Olivia Garbutt

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