Wigan named the best place to be an apprentice, a new analysis finds

• Tech startup Multiverse publishes inaugural ‘Best Places to be an Apprentice’ ranking, revealing the best places in England to be an apprentice. 
• Wigan tops the list – ranked using a range of criteria including number of apprentices per business and local rental prices – while Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme take the second and third spots.
• The North of England claims almost half of the top 20 list, with Hull, Sunderland and Barnsley earning places in the ranking.

Wigan is the best place to be an apprentice in England, according to new research by tech startup Multiverse.

Multiverse’s ‘Best Places to be an Apprentice’ ranks areas using criteria from government and ONS data including the number of apprentices per business, growth in the number of new apprentices, the area’s employment rate, and how affordable renting is across the towns and cities. 

The analysis found that Wigan, Stoke-on-Trent, and Newcastle-under-Lyme are the top three areas to be an apprentice in England.

All three topped the list by scoring consistently highly in every category, particularly for the high number of apprentices per business.

The affordability of properties for apprentices to rent means that nine of the top 20 places are in the North of England, whilst London does not feature at all. Three areas are in the North East, three in the North West, and three in Yorkshire and the Humber. This compares to just four in the South East and one in the South West. 

The analysis shows that the opportunity for apprentices stretches beyond big cities. Towns dominate cities in the ranking, with only five of the top 20 places being cities: Stoke, Plymouth, Hull, Southampton, and Sunderland. 

Euan Blair, CEO at Multiverse, said: 

“Apprenticeships are an incredible vehicle for social mobility across the UK – and at Multiverse, we’re proud to have apprentices in every corner of the country. Access to our apprenticeships has been unlocked by the use of tech to scale our offering nationwide and has allowed us to reach often overlooked areas.

“The spread of opportunities supports our belief in the ability for apprenticeships to be the tool that enables equitable access to economic opportunity, for everyone.”