More people living in Waverley started an apprenticeship in the 2023-24 academic year, new figures show.

Meanwhile, the number of new apprentices in England reached a record high.

The Association of School and College Leaders welcomed this record but warned of the growing number of young people not in education, employment or training across the country.

New figures from the Department for Education show some 205 people living in Waverley started an apprenticeship in the 2023-24 academic year, the latest year for which data is available.

It was up from around 185 the previous year, and the highest figure since records began in 2015-16.

And it means a total of 465 people in Waverley were enrolled in an apprenticeship in 2023-24.

The figures are rounded to the nearest five.

Meanwhile, a record 120,420 people in England started an apprenticeship in 2023-24 – up 8% on around 111,360 the year before, and also the highest figure since records began.

The number of new apprentices across the country has increased each year since 2015-16 when there were just 26,870.

It means a total of 285,125 apprentices were enrolled across England in 2023-24, which was also a record.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the ASCL, said the figures were "great to see".

But he added: "However, we are deeply concerned about the fact that nearly one million young people are not in education, employment, or training, and the lasting impact this has on their life chances.

"This situation reflects a deeply embedded socioeconomic divide, and we simply must do more to provide great opportunities for all young people."

Separate Office for National Statistics data published last month revealed 948,000 young people aged 16-24 were not in employment, education or training in the three months to June 2025.

This prompted the Trades Union Congress to call for jobs guarantee for young people across the UK.

The TUC said there should be an "ambitious" national jobs guarantee for Neets, as it warned the country faces a growing crisis in young people’s labour market participation which "spiralled" under the Conservatives.

It added the Government has laid the foundations to tackle the problem, starting with a youth guarantee programme to ensure every young person aged 18-21 has access to learning, an apprenticeship or support to find a job, which is now being trialled.

It said this should be built on with a national jobs guarantee, which prioritises young people who have been not in employment, education or training for six months or longer and are at high risk of becoming long-term Neet.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: "Under the Conservatives, young people were failed with many let down by the education system and stuck out of work, education and training.

"We know that real experience of paid work is the best way to turn the tide on rising rates of worklessness and that over time this investment will more than pay for itself."

The DfE figures show while the number of people starting apprenticeships in England has risen steadily over the past few years, numbers of higher education entrants has been more volatile.

Some 717,780 people entered higher education in the 2023-24 academic year, down 2% on 731,860 a year earlier and the lowest figure since 2019-20 just before the Covid-19 pandemic.

This included 1,605 in Waverley – a slight decrease from 1,635 the previous year.

Following the onset of the pandemic, an atypical sharp rise of 11% was recorded in the national number of higher education entrants in 2020-21. This figure has declined each year since, though it remains higher than pre-pandemic.

The DfE was contacted for comment.