Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to support the recruitment of (a) apprentices and (b) graduates to the British defence industry.

The Ministry of Defence already supports over 460,000 jobs and 24,000 apprenticeships across the UK, providing sustainable, high-quality, well-paying jobs. As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, the Ministry of Defence has announced a £182 million skills package which includes a range of initiatives that will support apprentices and graduates. These include Defence Technical Excellence Colleges, the Defence Universities Alliance and the Graduate and Apprentice Clearing System.