Apprenticeships

Debate between Nick Boles and Amanda Milling

Thursday 10th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nick Boles]

The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that there is a problem with people starting courses and not completing them, fundamentally because those courses were inappropriate for them. It is something that we need to tackle, but it is more a subject that we are tackling through the panel that Lord Sainsbury is chairing, which is looking at establishing much clearer and more directive routes through technical education so that a person at 16 starts a course that is right for them, that they will complete and that will lead them—I hope—on to a great apprenticeship.

[Amanda Milling (Cannock Chase) (Con)]

A total of 370 new apprenticeships were started between August and October last year in Cannock Chase, which put us at the top of the tables in Staffordshire and shows that local businesses are really embracing apprenticeships. Does my hon. Friend agree that involving employers in the design and standards of apprenticeships will mean that apprentices get the skills that businesses are looking for? Will he confirm that the employers involved are from a broad range of sectors so that everyone’s requirements are met?

[Nick Boles]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about this. It is extremely important not only that employers are in charge of developing standards to ensure that those standards are directly relevant to current occupations, but that we do not involve just the large employers that have human resources departments and senior managers who can go to meetings to help to develop those standards. Before every standard is approved, we insist that small and medium-sized employers in the industry support it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Boles and Amanda Milling

Monday 25th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nick Boles]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, the Chairman of the Select Committee on Education. It is particularly welcome to see that the number of apprenticeship starts have, yet again, gone up in the latest quarter. That is true not just for apprenticeships generally but for higher and degree apprenticeships, which give young people the reassurance that an apprenticeship can take them to whatever level they aspire to reach.

[Amanda Milling (Cannock Chase) (Con)]

The National Design Academy, Stafford University and GMP Design are jointly seeking to locate a 737 aeroplane in Rugely, which would be converted into a design studio to house their new experiential design course. Does my hon. Friend agree that such innovative thinking could inject new energy into post-16 education and training?

[Nick Boles]

I was not aware of that example, but it sounds fantastic. It is exactly what the most innovative colleges are doing, and we want, through the area review process, to enable more colleges to become as innovative as that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Boles and Amanda Milling

Tuesday 10th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Milling (Cannock Chase) (Con)]

Will the Minister join me in congratulating Jack Hammond and Ashley Churchman, two inspiring apprentices who addressed a joint Education and Business, Innovation and Skills Committee seminar last week? Does he agree that apprentices sharing their experiences in this way can demonstrate to businesses the real value of employing apprentices?

[Nick Boles]

I certainly would like to congratulate my hon. Friend’s constituents. As she says, there are no better advocates for apprenticeships than those who have completed them—not a bunch of middle-aged people like us—who can go to their schools and preach the virtues of apprenticeships.