Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 17 paragraph 2 of HM Government publication The Strategy For Our Veterans, published in November 2018, what steps he is taking to ensure that veterans enter appropriate employment and can continue to enhance their careers throughout their working lives; and what amount of funding he has allocated to the 2028 outcome.

We have put in place a number of policies which will enable adults, including veterans, to access training to either help them into employment or to develop their careers whilst in employment.

Our reforms to apprenticeships will provide people of all ages with access to top quality training and career prospects. In addition, the government-funded and government-supported careers offer includes the National Careers Service, which offers free careers information, advice and guidance to both young people and adults.

The National Retraining Scheme, which was announced in the 2017 Autumn Budget, is an ambitious and far-reaching programme to drive adult retraining. The scheme will help those who are most at risk and in precarious employment to gain the skills they need to thrive as the economy changes. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced £100 million of new government funding, which will allow the roll-out of initial elements of the National Retraining Scheme from next year, and for the continued testing and development of the scheme.

We are also funding specific schemes which provide training for veterans to become further education teachers or school teachers. Further Forces recruits and trains service leavers to teach science, engineering and technology in further education. There are currently around 100 service leavers engaged in the programme, which is delivered by the Education and Training Foundation. In 2017, additional funding of £900,000 over two years was made available to expand the programme by up to 100 further places.

For teaching in schools, the Troops to Teachers bursary is worth a total of £40,000 over two years and will help ex-servicemen and women make the transition to the classroom. It is available to veterans who study for an undergraduate degree with Qualified Teacher Status in England in a priority subject.

This is in addition to the work that the Ministry of Defence undertakes to help veterans into work and new careers.