Apprentices: Skilled Workers

(asked on 16th October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support high-skilled apprenticeships.


Answered by
Anne Milton Portrait
Anne Milton
This question was answered on 24th October 2018

The government’s apprenticeship programme supports the development of the skilled workforce businesses need to make sure they are fit for the future.

The apprenticeship reforms that were introduced in 2017 are putting employers in the driving seat and raising the quality of apprenticeships. Over 350 new employer-designed apprenticeship standards at all levels have now been approved, with more in development. The apprenticeship levy means that there is sustained investment in apprenticeship training. The annual apprenticeship budget will rise to £2.45 billion by 2020. We also provide generous co-funding for apprenticeship training for small and medium-sized enterprises, ensuring that all employers can make a sustainable investment in the skills they need to grow.

These reforms are already raising the quality of apprenticeships. The proportion of people starting on new employer-designed standards is now over 40 per cent compared to just 2.5 per cent this time last year. In the same period, the average number of training hours per apprenticeship increased by 20 per cent. We have also seen a healthier balance of apprenticeships across all skill level. The numbers of apprenticeship starts at higher levels (level 4 and above) have risen by almost 13 per cent compared to the same point the previous year.

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