Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Jupp Excerpts

Monday 6th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Simon Jupp (East Devon) (Con)]

4. What steps his Department is taking to support young people into high-quality jobs.

[Gary Sambrook (Birmingham, Northfield) (Con)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to support young people into high-quality jobs.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Gavin Williamson)]

We are supporting young people to ensure that they have the skills and the high-quality, secure and fulfilling employment through the plan for jobs package with £500 million of Department for Education funding. This includes the largest ever expansion of traineeships and an increased incentive payment of £3,000 for employers hiring apprentices.

[Simon Jupp]

Future skills and technical education are at the forefront of skills investment in East Devon following the Prime Minister’s visit to launch the lifetime skills guarantee. Exeter College has opened a groundbreaking future skills centre and has also launched a new Institute of Technology Digital and Data Centre. Does the Secretary of State agree that Devon must continue to diversify in education to improve skills and career opportunities to help provide a future for more young people in Devon?

[Gavin Williamson]

Having had the privilege of visiting Exeter College, I can say that, with its Institute of Technology, it is a brilliant example of how a college can expand its range of careers and opportunities for so many young people and ensure that they do not think that there is only one route, which is to go to university. My hon. Friend is right to highlight how important it is to have a broad range of opportunities, especially in the new and emerging technologies, which will be so vital in driving the economy forward in East Devon and the south-west.