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  • Higher Level Apprenticeships in Higher Education, academic year 2023/24

    Topics:
    • Higher and Further Education and training statistics

    Date published: 27 March 2026

    The Department for the Economy has published official statistical reports on Higher Level Apprenticeships in Higher Education and Apprenticeships in Northern Ireland for 2023/24.

    Higher Level Apprenticeships in Higher Education for 2023/24

    This publication provides detailed analysis on the characteristics of Higher Level Apprenticeship students enrolled at Northern Ireland Higher Education Institutions, along with information on new starts, overall participation, and qualifications achieved.

    The key points are:

    1. Starts

    • HLA starts in NI HEIs rose in academic year 2023/24, with 340 students joining an HLA programme. This was an increase of 14% (40) from 2022/23.
    • In 2023/24, more males (220) than females (120) began an HLA programme in higher education.

    2. Participants

    • There were 890 Higher Level Apprenticeship students in HE in 2023/24, an annual increase of 15%.
    • Business and management remained the most popular subject area with HLA HE students, accounting for 41% (365) of all HLAs in 2023/24.

    3. Achievers

    • In 2023/24, 160 Higher Level Apprenticeship students successfully qualified at NI HEIs.

    This full publication, including associated tables and documents, is available on the DfE website.

    Apprenticeships in Northern Ireland, 2023/24

    This report presents the overall number of apprenticeships in Northern Ireland in 2023/24. It combines information from ApprenticeshipsNI and Higher Level Apprenticeships (HLAs) delivered in both Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE).

    The key points are:

    1. Starts

    • There were 8,815 new starts on Apprenticeships programmes in 2023/24.

    2. Participation

    • 13,555 students were enrolled on an apprenticeship programme in 2023/24.
    • Mid-Ulster LGD recorded the highest apprenticeship participation rate (1,841) relative to 100,000 population aged 16-64 years.
    • Three-quarters of apprenticeship students were male in 2023/24.

    3. Achievers

    • 4,735 students successfully achieved their full apprenticeship qualification in 2023/24.

    This full publication, including associated tables and documents, is available on the DfE website.

    Notes to editors:

    5. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk

    6. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

    7. To keep up to date with news from the Department you can follow us on the following social media channels:

    •  X – @Economy_NI
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