Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) degree apprenticeships and (b) higher technical education in Solihull.

Employers have designed over 155 high-quality degree level apprenticeship standards to support them to develop the skilled workforces they need. The department is working to expand these opportunities, so they are accessible to people across England, including in Solihull.

The department is making up to £8 million available in the 2022/23 financial year to higher education institutions through the Strategic Priorities Grant to enable them to grow provision and form new employer partnerships.

The department is promoting apprenticeships at all levels, including degree level, to young people through the Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge (ASK) programme. ASK ensures students across England are aware of the benefits of apprenticeships. From this autumn, UCAS will expand their service so that young people can see more personalised options, including apprenticeships. From 2024, students will be able to apply for apprenticeships through UCAS alongside an undergraduate degree application. This means thousands of more young people will benefit from a wider choice of high-quality options, and employers can benefit from better access to talent on UCAS.

The department has worked with employers across the country to help them showcase higher and degree level apprenticeship vacancies. During National Apprenticeship Week, we published a listing featuring hundreds of vacancies that are available for people to apply for now, including in the West Midlands. This listing is available at: https://amazingapprenticeships.com/app/uploads/2022/11/Higher-Degree-Listing-FEB-2023.pdf.

The department is delivering reforms to improve higher technical education, including by investing £300 million to establish 21 Institutes of Technology (IoT) across the country. IoTs are collaborations between employers, colleges and universities that focus on the higher level science, technology, engineering and mathematics skill needs of employers and learners. The department used £9 million of the capital funding to support the creation of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull IoT. This IoT opened in 2020 and delivers higher technical education in the advanced manufacturing and engineering sectors.

The department has introduced Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). HTQs are level 4 to 5 qualifications providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers. Solihull College & University Centre, as part of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull IoT, received funding through the Higher Technical Education Growth Fund in 2022 to support the rollout of HTQs.

The department is also introducing T Levels at Level 3, which provide a high quality route into Higher Technical Education. Solihull College and University Centre offer T Levels in Digital, and Solihull Sixth Form College will offer T Levels in Education and Childcare from September this year.