Apprentices and apprenticeship examinations, 2000

Preliminary figures for the 2000/01 school year show that the share of new apprentices is the same as for the 1999/2000 school year, with 32.7 per cent. There is still a clear minority of women among the total number of apprentices, with 31.5 per cent. This percentage is virtually unchanged from the 1999/2000 school year. Since the 1995/96 school year the percentage of females has nevertheless increased from 21.6 per cent.

There was no increase in the number of female apprentices in the traditionally male-dominated trades. The building and construction trades have the lowest percentage of women apprentices, with 1.4 per cent. Electrical trades have 4.1 per cent, technical building 5.8 per cent and engineering and mechanical trades 6.3 per cent. This is not vastly different from the data for the 1999/2000 school year. Women dominate the health and social studies programmes, accounting for 91.7 per cent, while arts, crafts and design was 90.1 per cent female.

Decline in the number of apprentices

The number of new apprentices is relatively stable. In the autumn of 2000, 14 500 new apprentices were registered compared with 15 000 the autumn before. This is a decline of 3.3 per cent.

In the autumn of 2000 a total of 30 000 apprentices were registered, a decline of 4.3 per cent from 1999. By county, Rogaland had the largest decline in apprentices, with 7 per cent. Only Møre og Romsdal had the same number of apprentices in the autumn of 2000 as it had the year before.

Apprenticeship examinations

There had been a major decline in the number of candidates taking apprenticeship examinations. In the period 01.10.1999 to 30.09.2000, 23 700 took the apprenticeship examination. This is a decline of 25.5 per cent from the period 01.10.1998 to 30.09.1999.

The number of candidates aged 19 and 20 who have passed an apprenticeship examination has increased. Among 19-year-olds there has been an increase of 10.4 per cent, and among 20-year-olds an 8.7 per cent increase. Numbers are otherwise down. The largest decline was noted among candidates aged 25 and up, where a 39 per cent decline was seen. The decline in the 23-24 age group was 32.3 per cent. This decline is mainly due to the transition option put in place in connection with Reform 94, which gave candidates the opportunity to take the apprenticeship examination under the old system. Reform 94 consequently led to an increase in the number of candidates taking an apprenticeship examination in subsequent years, before the numbers began falling again.

The statistics are published annually.

Tables:

• Table 1 Apprentices by gender and type of education. Preliminary figures. 1st October 2000
• Table 2 Apprentices by gender and county of residence. Preliminary figures. 1st October 2000
• Table 3 Apprentices by age and county of residence. Preliminary figures. 1st October 2000
• Table 4 New apprentices by gender and county of residence. Preliminary figures. 1st October-30th September 2000
• Table 5 New apprentices by age and county of residence. Preliminary figures. 1st October 1999-30th September 2000
• Table 6 Apprenticeship examination candidates by gender, type of education and results. Preliminary figures. 1st October 1999-30th September 2000
• Table 7 Candidates who passed an apprenticeship examination by gender and county of residence. 1st October 1999-30th September 2000
• Table 8 Candidates who passed an apprenticeship examination by age and county of residence. 1st October 1999-30th September 2000
• Table 9 Population of pupils and apprentices by county of residence. Per cent of years's cohort. 1994-2000