Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Matt Hancock

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

7. What steps he is taking to ensure more employers offer apprenticeships to 16 to 18-year-olds.

[The Minister for Skills and Enterprise (Matthew Hancock)]

Apprenticeship reforms are putting employers in the driving seat of designing world-class standards for apprenticeships, and making it easier for them to offer apprenticeships in the future. I can announce to the House today that David Meller of the Meller Education Trust has agreed to become the new chair of the apprenticeship ambassadors network, with a brief of expanding and encouraging that network further and boosting apprenticeships once again.

[Iain Stewart]

I recently visited SMC Pneumatics in my constituency to meet its apprentices. It has an excellent apprenticeship programme, run in conjunction with Milton Keynes college. One suggestion made to me was that to get the most out of their apprenticeship, apprentices need a good mentor to support them. Will the Minister assure me that his Department will do all it can to facilitate a network of voluntary mentors?

[Matthew Hancock]

Yes, I absolutely will. I have visited Milton Keynes with my hon. Friend and seen some of the excellent work on apprenticeships there. Of course, from time immemorial an apprenticeship has been not just a skills programme but a mentoring programme that shows people what it takes to work and succeed in a career. Modern apprenticeships do that too.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Matt Hancock

Monday 3rd December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

7. How he plans to deliver more rigorous vocational education in schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills (Matthew Hancock)]

School performance tables are being used to incentivise the teaching of the highest-value vocational qualifications. From September 2012, the vocational qualifications taught to 14 to 16-year-olds have had to meet rigorous new standards. From next year, we will identify the highest-value vocational qualifications for 16 to 18-year-olds, thereby removing thousands of weak and poor quality qualifications.

[Iain Stewart]

Will my hon. Friend ensure that employers have a greater role in designing the vocational qualifications that are taught in schools?

[Matthew Hancock]

Yes, I absolutely will. I believe passionately that it is only when all vocational qualifications are high quality that all vocational qualifications are seen to be high quality. Employers have a critical role in making that happen.