Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) skills and (b) economic sectors his Department has classified as priority for the apprenticeships sector.

The government want to see high-quality apprenticeship opportunities at all levels, right across the economy, and we are working with employer groups in a wide range of sectors to develop the standards their industries need. A total of 390 apprenticeship standards are now approved for delivery.^[1]

Apprenticeships benefit people of all ages and backgrounds, and the government’s reforms are driving up quality and enabling people to gain the skills employers need.

As part of the Industrial Strategy, the department contributes to Sector Deals: business-led agreements between a sector and government, with each side making commitments to work in new and innovative ways to improve productivity.^[2] All of the sector deals include elements relating to skills and the labour market specific to those sectors, including commitments to increase the number of apprenticeships at all levels across priority sectors. This could include promoting apprenticeships to existing workers, to support progression and re-training to provide the highly skilled workforce employers need.

Further sector deals are in progress towards formal negotiation. The government is fully engaged in this process and seeks opportunities to embed skills policy initiatives within each deal.

[1] https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/?includeApprovedForDelivery=true.

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-sector-deals/introduction-to-sector-deals.