Further education and training opportunities
Published:
18 December 2025
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Data on the percentage of 16 to 18 year olds in education, training and employment.
Summary main findings
Between 2011 and 2023, there was a small drop in the percentage of 16 to 18 year olds who were not in education, employment or training (‘NEET’).
Between 2022 and 2023, the percentage of 16 to 18 year olds in employment, education, training, or NEET stayed the same.
By year
Visualisation
Percentage of 16 to 18 year olds in education, training or employment, over time (England, 2011 to 2023)
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Data
| Year | Employment (%) | Education (including apprenticeships and work-based learning) (%) | Other training (%) | Not in employment, education or training (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8.3 | 78.9 | 4.7 | 8.0 |
| 2022 | 8.1 | 78.5 | 4.9 | 8.4 |
| 2021 | 8.6 | 79.4 | 4.8 | 7.1 |
| 2020 | 7.7 | 80.1 | 4.7 | 7.5 |
| 2019 | 7.7 | 80.0 | 5.0 | 7.3 |
| 2018 | 7.8 | 80.4 | 5.1 | 6.7 |
| 2017 | 7.9 | 80.8 | 5.1 | 6.2 |
| 2016 | 7.3 | 81.5 | 5.1 | 6.1 |
| 2015 | 6.9 | 81.6 | 5.0 | 6.5 |
| 2014 | 6.5 | 81.3 | 4.7 | 7.5 |
| 2013 | 7.0 | 80.8 | 4.5 | 7.7 |
| 2012 | 7.2 | 79.1 | 4.4 | 9.3 |
| 2011 | 6.8 | 79.4 | 4.0 | 9.8 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
About the data
Data source
Department for Education, Participation in education, training and employment
Time period
2011 to 2023
Geographic area
England
What the data measures
The data shows the percentage of young people aged 16 to 18 years old in education, training and employment in England.
Things you need to know
A person identified as NEET is either unemployed or economically inactive. Previous data includes a small number of students in further or higher education and work-based learning at the same time. The total number of young people in training excludes this group.
Since 2013, 16 to 17 year olds in England have been legally required to stay in education and training.
These findings are not comparable to those in last year’s report. This is because the figures from 2011 to 2022 have been revised to include improved population estimates.
Due to rounding, not all totals add up to 100%.
Type of data
Administrative data
Full report
Read more in State of the Nation 2025 on GOV.UK.
Download the data
Download full dataset (CSV, 9KB)
This file contains the following variables:
- Measure code
- Measure title
- Chart type
- Area code
- Area type
- Area name
- Primary split type
- Primary split value
- Secondary split type
- Secondary split value
- Time period
- Value
- Unit
Page history
Publication release date:
18 December 2025