Although the number of apprenticeship placements is increasing, many applicants still fail to secure a placement each year. Did applicants with an immigrant background have a lower probability of obtaining an apprenticeship than other applicants? Do we find differences based on other characteristics?
We also examine the significance of obtaining an apprenticeship for completing upper secondary education and for employment, focusing on the cohort that applied for apprenticeships in 2018 and began upper secondary education in the 2016/2017 school year. Did applicants who secured an apprenticeship have a higher probability of completing upper secondary education, and are there differences between applicants in different immigrant categories?
Furthermore, for these 2018 applicants, we look at their employment status six years after starting upper secondary education in 2016, comparing those who obtained an apprenticeship with those who did not.
Applicants from the general population were more likely to obtain an apprenticeship than those with an immigrant background. This difference was greater among boys than girls. The trend remains even when accounting for other factors, although a significant portion of the differences between immigrant categories can be attributed to differences in upper secondary school grades and absence. Grades and absence prove to be important factors in the likelihood of securing an apprenticeship, with low grades and high absence associated with a lower probability of obtaining a placement compared to high grades and low absence.
Immigrants from Europe were more likely to obtain an apprenticeship than immigrants from other parts of the world, especially Africa. The proportion of the general population who obtained an apprenticeship was higher than of applicants with an immigration background across all educational programs, except for IT and media production. For this education program was the proportion who obtained an apprenticeship highest among immigrants. The proportion of immigrants who obtained an apprenticeship was highest in Rogaland and lowest in Oslo.
The report also shows that obtaining an apprenticeship in 2018 had a significant impact on completing upper secondary education by 2022. This applied to applicants both with and without an immigrant background. The importance of securing an apprenticeship remains evident even when accounting for other characteristics such as grades and absence. Finally, we find that applicants who obtained an apprenticeship were employed in 2022 to a larger extend than those who did not, although this difference was not as pronounced as in the completion of upper secondary education. These findings underscore the importance of securing an apprenticeship.