Apprenticeships

Debate between Lord Agnew of Oulton and Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist

Monday 13th May 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

I refer the noble Baroness partly to my earlier answer where I spoke about the surveys that we are carrying out with schools. For example, the Compass data encourage seven meaningful encounters with employers. The apprenticeship programme is very much part of that.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, we should focus on the quality as well as the quantity of apprenticeships. With this in mind, will my noble friend join me in congratulating the UK Atomic Energy Authority, which in partnership with the Science and Technology Facilities Council is building a new training centre at Culham that will provide up to 150 high-quality apprenticeships in engineering, science and technology?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

I agree. It is interesting to note that, for example, a level 2 apprenticeship can boost earnings by 11% and a level 3 apprenticeship by 16%, so these are career-changing opportunities.