To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of trainees (a) in total and (b) in each sector progressed from an apprenticeship at level 2 to an advanced apprenticeship in the latest period for which figures are available. (153468)

Data relating to progression for apprenticeship to advanced apprenticeship is not currently available in a comprehensive manner because of the lack of unique learner identifiers in the Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) individualised learner record (ILR) data prior to 2007/08. The unique learner number (ULN) will enable the linking of two mutually exclusive records and episodes of learning to estimate the volume of learners progressing to advanced apprenticeship. The ULN is expected to be rolled out to all provision from January 2008, with a plan to compel use by LSC funded provision from September 2008. It will then take some years to work through the system before the ULN can be used to comprehensively monitor the progress of learners across provision, where there has been a break in the training.