skills
employment
inactivity
Education and training participation of 16- and 17-year-olds in the Greater West of England, 2025
This data insight describes participation in education, employment and training among 16- and 17-year-olds in the Greater West of England in 2025.
The Greater West of England is a bespoke geography defined here as Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.
Using management information collected by local authorities, this insight presents participation rates by participation type, by age and over time, with comparison to England excluding London. These figures are subject to variation in how 16- and 17-year-olds are identified and tracked across local authorities.
91.0%
Participation rate of 16- and 17-year-olds in education, employment and training in the Greater West of England
94.35%
Bath and North East Somerset participation rate; highest in the Greater West of England
93.8%
Participation rate among 16-year-olds in the Greater West of England
88.1%
Participation rate among 17-year-olds in the Greater West of England
Education, employment and training participation by participation type among 16- and 17-year-olds in the Greater West of England, 2025
This visualisation shows participation in education, employment and training by participation type among 16- and 17-year-oldswithin local authorities in the Greater West of England in 2025. Totals for the Greater West of England region and England excluding London are given for context.
Across all areas in the region, full-time education accounts for the largest share of participation, ranging from 80.21% in South Gloucestershire to 89.35% in Bath and North East Somerset. Participation through apprenticeships ranges from 0% in Swindon to 9.9% in South Gloucestershire.
Work-based learning, part-time education, employment combined with study and other participation types account for relatively small shares across local authorities, generally below 5%.
The proportion of young people participating in education, employment and training ranges from 89.3% in Gloucestershire to 94.4% in Bath and North East Somerset. The Greater West of England total (91.0%) is consistent with England excluding London (91.2%).
Education, employment and training participation rates in the Greater West of England by age (16 and 17), 2025
This visualisation presents participation rates in education, employment and training among 16- and 17-year-olds by local authority in the Greater West of England in 2025, with comparison to England excluding London.
Across all areas, participation rates were higher at age 16 than at age 17. In the Greater West of England, 93.8% of 16-year-olds were participating in education and training, compared with 88.1% of 17-year-olds.
For 16-year-olds, participation rates ranged from 92.4% in Gloucestershire to 96.6% in Bath and North East Somerset. Among 17-year-olds, rates ranged from 86.0% in Gloucestershire to 92.2% in Bath and North East Somerset.
Participation rates in the Greater West of England were consistent with those recorded for England excluding London for both age groups.
Trends in education, employment and training participation in the Greater West of England by participation type among 16- and 17-year-olds, 2020-2025
This visualisation shows trends in participation in education, employment and training by participation type among 16- and 17-year-olds in the Greater West of England between 2020 and 2025. National trends in England excluding London are given for context.
Across the period, the proportion of young people participating in education, employment and training in the Greater West of England ranged from 90.7% in 2020 to 92.3% in 2022, before dropping slightly to 91.0% in 2025. Over the same period, participation in England excluding London ranged from 92% to 92.7%, before also dropping slightly to 91.2% in 2025.
Full-time education accounted for the largest share of participation in each year for both geographies, while apprenticeships consistently represented a smaller proportion. Other participation types each accounted for less than 2% in all years shown.
