Secondary Education: Vocational guidance

(asked on 11th July 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide secondary school pupils with information about the opportunities available to study (a) T-Levels, (b) apprenticeships, and (c) other post-16 applied, technical and vocational qualifications.


Answered by
Robert Halfon Portrait
Robert Halfon
This question was answered on 17th July 2023

On 1 January 2023, legislation came into force that strengthens the provision originally introduced in 2018, in section 42B of the Education Act 1997. This provider access legislation, sometimes known as the ‘Baker Clause’, specifies that schools must provide at least six opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to speak to all pupils, during school years 8-13.

However, even before the strengthened legislation came into force there were grounds for optimism, as young people had more encounters with providers of technical education last year, including apprenticeships. In 2022, awareness of apprenticeships doubled by Year 11 with 39% of young people reporting awareness in Year 7, increasing to 81% in Year 11. In 60% of reporting schools, young people met independent training providers. This has risen from 45% in 2020/21, and 44% in 2018/19.

The department is aware of the importance of provider access legislation following a report from the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC). This report showed uptake of apprenticeships was 16% higher in the schools that provided information on apprenticeships to most, or all, of their pupils, compared with the schools that provided information to a small minority.

The department is investing approximately £34 million in careers provision for young people, including a grant of up to around £32.5 million for the CEC to support secondary schools and colleges to improve their careers programmes.

The department also continues to increase outreach of apprenticeships to pupils of all ages and backgrounds through our Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme. The ASK programme, funded at £3.2 million per year, provides schools and further education colleges across England with a free bespoke package of comprehensive information and support about apprenticeships. Furthermore, the department’s new ‘Career Starter Apprenticeships’ campaign is raising awareness of apprenticeships which offer great opportunities for those looking for their first role after leaving full-time education.

Additionally, Get the Jump, a digital campaign provided by the National Careers Service, brings together all the different education and training pathways open to young people at post-16 and post-18. The campaign helps to support informed choice and raise awareness of technical education options, including T Levels, traineeships, apprenticeships, and higher technical qualifications.

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