The best UK cities for apprenticeships revealed 

• Winchester is the best city to start an apprenticeship
• Burnley and Salford take second and third
• Manchester, Reading, and Leicester also make the list

Winchester is the best city to start an apprenticeship, new research has found.

The study by marketing agency School of Marketing analysed the latest 2021/22 ONS data to see which cities had the highest rate of achievements in apprenticeship schemes.

It found that the Hampshire city of Winchester was the best city to start an apprenticeship, with 130 out of Winchester’s 370 apprentices successfully completing the course, leaving them with an achievement rate of 35.14%. Winchester’s most popular subject for apprentices is Health, Public Services and Care, with 120 of their 370 starts being in this field.

In second place is Burnley, with 70 achievements from 240 starts giving the city an achievement rate of 29.17%. Burnley’s most popular subject was again Health, Public Services and Care, with 70 of its 240 starts being in this field. Other popular subjects include Construction and Engineering.

The Greater Manchester city of Salford comes in third place, with 180 achievements from 700 starts, giving the area an achievement rate of 25.71%. 190 of Salford’s 700 starts were in Business, Administration and Law, making it the most popular field in the city, with other popular subjects including Health, Public Services and Care, Construction, and IT.

Manchester comes in fifth place in the list, with 260 achievements from 1,040 starts, giving it an achievement rate of 25%. Manchester comes in as the city with the most starts in the top ten, followed closely by Coventry and Hull. Manchester’s most popular subject was Business, Administration and Law with 310 starts from their 1,040 total being in this field. Other popular subjects include Health, Engineering and Retail.

Reading comes in sixth place, with 90 achievements from 380 apprenticeship starts, giving it an achievement rate of 23.68%. Reading’s most popular subject was Business, with 120 of their 380 starts being in this field. Other popular subjects include Health and Engineering.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from School of Marketing said: “With many young people keen to decide on what to do with their future, this data illustrates what might be the best areas to take up an apprenticeship. As many areas begin schemes to help the next generation, like recently with London’s ‘Skill Up Step Up’ campaign, it will be interesting how achievement rates vary over the next few years.”

The study was conducted by the School of Marketing, which offers world-leading digital marketing apprenticeships in more than 20 countries, serving more than 4,000 learners worldwide.