Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessments her Department has made regarding the adequacy of skills training opportunities in the local labour market to support the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project.

The new Local Skills Improvement Plans bring together employers, skills providers and other local stakeholders to identify the key skills needed in an area and to determine the changes required to local skills provision. For the Norfolk and Suffolk area, the Secretary of State for Education designated the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce to lead the Local Skills Improvement Plan.

At a national level, the Green Jobs Delivery Group, which brings together representatives from government, business, industry, trade unions and academia, is the key vehicle for achieving our green skills aims and is examining nuclear skills needs.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has approved five apprenticeship standards for the nuclear industry, with another in development. The Free Courses for Jobs offer includes the ECITB level 3 Certificate and Diploma in Nuclear Engineering and Science.

Skills Bootcamps are short, flexible courses designed to meet the needs of employers. In additional to the national Skills Bootcamp offer, New Anglia LEP, in partnership with Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, is using Department for Education grant funding to run Skills Bootcamps that meet local needs. Some of these new skills, such as construction, are valuable for the development of Sizewell C. It is expected that the Skills Bootcamp offer will develop as the Sizewell C project progresses.