Apprenticeships are gaining more and more popularity, meaning more businesses and companies are striving to offer them. Apprenticeships produce excellent employees, who have skills tailored to each company. Therefore, increasing amounts of businesses are trying to provide apprenticeship programmes. However, companies are unable to do this themselves! They have to look for help from apprenticeship providers, which actually offer the teaching and skills learning to apprentices.
There are many different apprenticeship providers. This article discusses the most popular apprenticeship providers. You can discover the top ten based on number of enrolments and the top ten based on government ranking if you carry on reading.
Top 10 apprenticeship providers ranked by amount of starts
More and more apprenticeship providers are popping up in the UK! With so many to choose from, it can be hard to see which employers are the most popular.
However, this data from the 2021 and 2022 academic year shows the popularity of apprenticeship providers by measuring the number of enrolments for each one.
Most people aren’t aware of the apprenticeship providers, as they are focused on the business these providers are working for. Therefore, the number of starts actually depends on individual business’ popularity, which then reflects on the apprenticeship providers.
All of the data in this article about the number of enrolments for each apprenticeship provider can be found on this link from the government website. The graph below shows the top 10 apprenticeship providers in the UK.
10. Realise Learning and Employment Limited
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 4,000 enrolments for this provider. Realise has actually been named the UK’s apprenticeship provider of the year.
They have a network of over 200 skilful and consistent trainers. Each trainer has plenty of industry insight and has had multiple levels of training.
Realise offers apprenticeship programmes to many public and private sectors. Some well-known companies include BT, Stagecoach, Screwfix, Department for Education and many more!
Therefore, they provide training programmes for a range of different industries. They offer apprenticeships for social care, early years education and even on how to become a bus driver!
You can find out more about Realise Learning and Employment on their website, if you click here.
AS with most of these apprenticeship providers, Realise seems to have a high enrolment of students over 25 years old. You can view the rest of the age splits in this handy little table:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 510 | 940 | 2,560 |
9. Corndel Limited
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 4,000 enrolments for this provider. Corndel prides itself on offering world-class coaching and award-winning programmes.
They are trusted by over 150 enterprise organisations. These include Cancer Research UK, John Lewis, M&S and Aston Martin.
Corndel is also partnered with global leaders in data science and technology Imperial College. Together, these companies aim to revolutionise leadership and data skills in the UK workforce.
Some useful statistics about Corndel can be found on their website here. This data describes how they have launched over 1636 programmes, have more than 150 coaches and have trained over 11000 people!
The apprenticeship programmes they provide offer one to two to one coaching and provide every student with useful leadership and data skills.
The apprenticeship programmes Corndel offers are mostly undertaken by people aged 25 or over. In this list of apprenticeship providers, they show the lowest amount of enrolments for under 19 year olds!
You can find out the rest of the age split if you read this table:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 20 | 310 | 3,670 |
8. Paragon Education and Skills Limited
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 4,160 enrolments for this provider. Paragon Education and Skills Limited work with over 2,000 businesses, across six different sectors.
They offer apprenticeship programmes in:
- Childcare
- Business
- Care
- Hair and beauty
- Automotive careers
- Marine careers
Paragon is accredited by a number of leading bodies and are also a member of a number of professional organisations. They have been providing high quality apprenticeship programmes for over 20 years!
Their focus is mainly on the care and education sectors. They have in-depth knowledge and useful insights into careers associated with these as a result.
Paragon also prides themselves on achieving some of the highest success and achievement rates in the industry.
Some useful statistics on their website can be viewed here. According to Paragon data, 88% of employers would recommend them and 91% of learners would also recommend their services.
You can view the age split for students Paragon employs in this useful table:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 490 | 940 | 2,730 |
7. Babington Business College Limited
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 4,420 enrolments for this provider. The Babington Business College offers much more than apprenticeships.
They also provide professional training courses and pre-employment services. Further to this, free adult learning courses are also offered. This is just in case you feel the need to brush up on your English and Maths skills.
However, these adult courses also include learning about customer services and data. Babington however, has been offering apprenticeship training courses for over 40 years.
These apprenticeships use the latest learning methods and are contextualised to fit specific business and companies, providing apprentices with the specific skills they need.
They provide teaching for apprentices in a mixture of different ways. For example, they can offer teaching online, face to face and even provide workshop based formats.
Similar to other apprenticeship providers, they also offer one to one coaching services. Some examples of employers they work with include Amazon, the Education and Skills Funding Agency, M&S and many more.
You can discover all of the employers Babington work with on their website, if you click here.
You can check out the age split of enrolments using this table:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 490 | 1,240 | 2,690 |
6. Multiverse Group Limited
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 4,940 enrolments for this provider. Multiverse prides themselves on having connections with over 1000 employers in the UK.
It has also been found that 93% of apprentices who are involved with these programmes remain with their employer after the apprenticeship.
Some employers Multiverse works with includes Citi, Just Eat, Microsoft and Lang O’Rourke. Multiverse programmes are shown to be extremely effective, as they offer one to one careers guidance for apprentices.
This one to one guidance will be with an expert coach in the industry you are working for. Therefore, the programmes Multiverse offers can be extremely valuable.
After you complete an apprenticeship with this provider, you will earn an accredited qualification and would have acquired foundational skills that supports professional development. You can find out more about Multiverse on their website here.
Multiverse mostly finds that students over 25 enrol on their courses, as shown in this table:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 220 | 1,150 | 3,570 |
5. BPP Professional Education Limited
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 5,450 enrolments for this provider. BPP offers apprenticeships for a wide range of different careers.
These include nursing, accountancy and tax, leadership and management, law and much more! This apprenticeship provider also offers help from their dedicated performance support team.
They take the time to understand each business and as a result, tailor skills specific to the company. They also provide an online performance tracking dashboard. This can be used to measure a company’s employee’s success and see the impact of their development.
Apprentice’s are taught essential skills in five stages from BPP. These stages are prepare, apply, collaborate, consolidate and assess. You can find out more about BPP Professional Education’s learning framework on their website if you click here.
Being assessed when completing an apprenticeship will be very different to how you have been examined before. There are many different levels of apprenticeships and these affect which qualifications you are being assessed for.
If you want to understand all of the different apprenticeship levels, check out this article from Think Student.
This company seems to offer more apprenticeships to individuals who are nineteen or over, as shown in this table:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 450 | 2,840 | 2,160 |
4. Hit Training LTD
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 5,750 enrolments for this provider. Hit Training LTD is not exercise based, if that’s what you were wondering! Instead, this company focuses on offering apprenticeship programmes for the hospitality industry.
Their programmes are used to improve employees’ skills and increasing productivity in the work place. They offer apprenticeships for many different hospitality settings.
Some examples of these include restaurants, hotels and pubs. The apprenticeship courses offer classroom based teaching and workshops.
The workshops are particularly effective because they provide learners with important skills and technical product knowledge.
You can find out more information on the Hit Training LTD website here. Hit Training mostly offers apprenticeships to students who are over 25 years old, as shown in this table:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 840 | 1,410 | 3,490 |
3. Kaplan Financial Limited
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 6,240 enrolments for this provider. Kaplan operates in 30 different countries!
This provider specialises in offering apprenticeships in financial companies. This also includes apprenticeships of accounting, tax and data and technology.
Kaplan prides themselves on being an extremely diverse apprenticeship provider and allowing home, office and hybrid learning. This provider allows education to be shared equally across the globe to give opportunities to people from all different backgrounds.
If you become an apprentice based in this company, you will receive a number of benefits, such as private medical insurance and annual leave.
You can find out more about Kaplan on their website if you click here.
Here is the data to display the age split for apprentices of Kaplan:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 550 | 3,830 | 1,870 |
2. British Army
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 8,540 enrolments for this provider. If you join the army, an apprenticeship takes approximately 12 months to complete. However, some do take longer.
The British Army offers a range of different apprenticeships. For example, they offer apprenticeships in engineering, health, telecommunications and much more! It’s no wonder that so many people want to join.
Surprisingly, the British Army also offers degree apprenticeships. If you complete one of these, you would be awarded with a Bachelors degree in Business leadership and management.
A range of training is offered, even to 16 and 17 year olds! If you are around these ages, you will be taught military skills, leadership skills and will work on increasing your fitness. Throughout all of this, you will also be earning a wage!
You can find out more about this on the British Army website if you click here. The most popular age group for joining the army is for 19-24 year olds. You can find out how many people from other age groups enrol if you look at this handy table:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 2,290 | 4,060 | 2,190 |
1. Lifetime Training Group Limited
For the 2021 and 2022 academic years, there were 16,750 enrolments for this provider. This company is known as the UK’s largest apprenticeship provider.
It offers a number of programmes, including hospitality and social care. Lifetime Training provide creative and innovative learning programmes, perfect for young people wanting to learn.
Some companies they work with include Nuffield Health, Greene King and the Department for Work and Pensions. They provide programmes for a range of different sectors.
For example, civil service, customer support and administration and logistics. You can view all of the sectors Lifetime Training provides apprenticeship programmes for on the Lifetime Training Group website, if you click here.
This apprenticeship provider seems to attract more older apprentices. Check out this table to discover the age split:
| Under 19 years | 19-24 years | 25+ years | |
| Number of enrolments | 2,120 | 4,740 | 9,860 |
After reading all this, you are probably very aware about what apprenticeship providers are and what they do. However, if you want to learn about apprenticeships in more detail, check out this article from Think Student.
Top 10 apprenticeship providers in 2022 ranked by the government
A list with information about the most popular apprenticeships has also been researched and collated by the government! You can find all of this data from the year 2022 on the government website, if you click this link.
However, here is a summary of the different employers the government mentioned. Each is linked to their respective websites if you want to find out more information:
- British Army– There are a range of different roles you could learn about here, including a career as a soldier, a mechanic or even a technician.
- Royal Navy– Similar to the army, you could become a mechanic or engineer with apprenticeships offered here.
- BT–This is the UK’s number one private sector apprenticeship programme. They provide apprenticeships which a technology and communications based.
- Royal Air Force– You could complete apprenticeships in logistics, engineering or even on how to become a technician.
- Department of Work and Pensions– There are a range of different apprenticeship roles offered here. For example, you could be involved in finance, human resources or communications.
- Clarkson Evans–The apprenticeships offered by this company are specifically tailored to becoming an electrician.
- Mitchells & Butlers– The apprenticeships this company offers are all hospitality based. This includes apprenticeships for becoming a chef, a manager or a waitperson.
- RSM– This apprenticeship provider offers careers in a range of different sectors. This includes IT, finance, technology and accounting.
- BAE Systems– This company also offers a range of different apprenticeships, including those based around science and technology and educational roles.
- Grant Thornton– The apprenticeship programmes they offer are split into three main sectors. These include tax, audit and advisory sectors.
This data is based on government ranking and the previous data is based on the amount of enrolments for each apprenticeship provider. Both are ways of measuring the popularity.
However, as the data is different, it is up to you to decide which apprenticeship providers are the most popular. It can also be useful to research other statistics, such as company reviews.
After learning about all of the apprenticeship providers, you are probably wondering whether you should do an apprenticeship or not. Of course, this decision is completely up to you.
However, if you need some help, check out the pros and cons of apprenticeships, by checking out this article from Think Student.