Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what levels of apprenticeships are offered by his Department; and how many apprenticeship starts there were at each level in each of the last three years.

Apprenticeships in Cabinet Office can be started at levels intermediate, advanced, higher and degree.

Overall apprenticeship starts in the Cabinet Office in England were as follows in each of the last three years.

Please note that we are awaiting finalised data for the period January-March 2018.

Note that apprentice starts outside England were

With the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in May 2017 our trajectory assumes slower growth at the beginning with starts increasing over time. This allows the necessary infrastructure to be put in place to ensure high quality apprenticeships are offered. The Cabinet Office contributes to the Civil Service commitment to deliver 30,000 new apprenticeship starts by 2020 with over 10,000 starts already achieved.

The Cabinet Office recognises that apprenticeships are an effective means of employers developing their own talent and are a vital part of the Government’s plans to build a sustainable, balanced economy designed to extend opportunity to more young people. We are also contributing to the wider Government aims of tackling youth unemployment and inspiring young and ethnically-diverse people to see the Cabinet Office, and Civil Service, as an employer of choice.

Cabinet Office is working to the Civil Service Apprenticeship Strategy and is offering apprenticeship opportunities where possible at all levels. This will be via new recruitment and the conversion of existing staff.