Apprenticeship starts for large businesses have been increasing since 2017 in all regions in England, however 2018 starts in London were over 3x greater than in the North East and 2x greater than in the East Midlands.
This can largely be attributed to large businesses in the capital using intermediate apprenticeships to re-skill existing employees. Large businesses are nearly three times less likely to use apprenticeships exclusively as a recruitment tool than micro businesses (fewer than 10 employees), and half as likely as small businesses (fewer than 25 employees). This has created an unbalanced system of disproportionately greater apprenticeship starts among large businesses in richer regions such as London and the South East.
