Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage small businesses to engage in apprenticeship programmes aimed at delivering a skilled pipeline of electrical contractors into the workforce.

Apprenticeships provide a fantastic opportunity for people to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to progress into electrical occupations, and the department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25 to support employers of all sizes to grow their apprenticeships workforce.

The department’s employer-designed apprenticeship standards ensure that apprentices are gaining relevant industry experience to progress in over 690 different occupations, including in electrical occupations such as Level 3 domestic electrician, Level 4 building energy management systems controls engineer and Level 6 electro-mechanical engineer.

The department has made it easier for smaller employers to recruit the next generation of talent removing the limit on the number of apprentices they can take on and cutting by a third the number of steps needed to register to take on an apprentice. The department continues to fund 95% of the cost of apprenticeships in small employers who do not pay the levy and meet 100% of the cost for the smallest employers (fewer than 50 staff) when they take on eligible young apprentices. The levy transfer system has also been simplified so smaller employers can more easily benefit from transferred funds.