Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Hancock and Ann McKechin

Thursday 6th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

Yes, of course I will join my hon. Friend. I also join him in paying tribute to my hon. Friends the Member for Burnley and for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones), who are apprenticeship ambassadors and do enormous work, in this House and beyond, to promote apprenticeships.

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

19. If his Department will make an assessment of the main causes of insecurity in the workplace.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Hancock and Ann McKechin

Thursday 21st March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

We have made it clear that we expect a new norm for school leavers to go either into apprenticeships or to university. On average, 10 people apply for every apprenticeship vacancy. There is huge enthusiasm, but much more that we can do.

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

Further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral South (Alison McGovern), surely the Government should adopt a comprehensive strategy to tackle gender segregation, just as they have—rightly—supported the Davies report on senior women on company boards.

[Matthew Hancock]

A comprehensive strategy is about ensuring that we support women as well as men who want to do apprenticeships, and that is exactly what we are doing.

Apprenticeships

Debate between Matt Hancock and Ann McKechin

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

I hope that they will. I welcome my hon. Friend as the apprenticeship ambassador in Parliament, as was announced today. His role is to ensure that we expand apprenticeships, listening to both parliamentarians and businesses as we take these reforms forward.

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

The Minister will be aware of the stark gender segregation in STEM apprenticeships. Will he tell us what steps he is going to take to achieve an increase?

[Matthew Hancock]

Yes, we have specific pilots to deal with this issue. The employer ownership pilot involves a consortium led by Rolls-Royce, BAE and others and it is aimed at increasing the number of women engaged in engineering. The best argument in favour comes from apprentices themselves. The apprentice of the year is a female engineer who works on the Typhoon Eurofighter. She is an inspiration, and it is the arguments that she puts—better than me—that will help to encourage girls and young women to look to engineering as an exciting career prospect.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Hancock and Ann McKechin

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

Yes, I have seen that report, and the Government have taken action. Some 25,000 science, technology, engineering and maths ambassadors are going into schools to inspire pupils, and there are some signs of success. Over the past three years, twice as many pupils have taken triple science, and the proportion of STEM courses in university is no longer falling as it was under Labour, but rising.

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

The Minister will be aware that the number of women entering the engineering professions is still appallingly low. What actions will he be taking not only to encourage women into those professions, but also, just as importantly, to retain them there as there is a high drop-out rate?

[Matthew Hancock]

I agree very strongly with the hon. Lady, and in my first week in this job I announced support for a pilot scheme by Rolls-Royce and other engineering companies to expand the number of women in engineering. After all, we cannot possibly believe that we are getting the best people in engineering if almost half the population are excluded.