Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Baynes Excerpts

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alex Burghart]

I should be delighted to look into that issue for the hon. Gentleman.

[Simon Baynes (Clwyd South) (Con)]

7. What steps his Department is taking to strengthen the value of technical qualifications.

[Ms Karen Buck (Westminster North) (Lab)]

14. What estimate he has made of the number of students studying for (a) BTECs and (b) T-levels in the 2021-22 academic year.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Alex Burghart)]

We are reforming technical education to support progression and meet employer needs. Our initial figures show that nearly 5,500 new students started T-levels in September last year, more than four times the number who started in 2020. We do not routinely publish take-up data on individual qualifications such as Pearson BTECs, but we will publish in June the number of students who were studying for applied general qualifications at the end of 2021.

[Simon Baynes]

Will the Minister join me in congratulating my constituent Adele Hughes, who is working as an apprentice with Raytheon Technologies, on being awarded a bronze medal at the recent WorldSkills UK Competition, and does he agree that Adele’s remarkable achievement demonstrates the value of technical qualifications and apprenticeships?