The number of adult learners achieving a government-funded further education qualification has dropped by 6.8 per cent in a single year - from 1,694,500 in 2015-16 to 1,578,900 in 2016-17, new figures from the Department for Education reveal. 

The number of adults on government-funded FE courses has also dropped - for the fifth year in a row.

According to the data, some 2,236,800 adult learners studied on an FE course that was funded by the government last year - a decrease of 3.8 per cent compared with 2015-16, when 2,324,700 learners took a government-funded FE course.

Fewer apprenticeship starts

The number of adult learners on full level 2 courses also fell. Comparing 2015-16 and 2016-17, 35.3 per cent fewer adult learners participated in a full level 2 course, and the number has been falling since 2012.

Meanwhile, the number of people embarking on apprenticeship programmes has also fallen. There were 494,900 apprenticeship starts in 2016-17 - some 2.8 per cent fewer than in 2015-16, when 509,400 students embarked on an apprenticeship.

However, more people took part in government-funded apprenticeship programmes this year - 908,700, compared with 899,400 in 2015-16.

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