Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage take up of degree-level apprenticeships.

Degree-level apprenticeships (Levels 6 and 7) provide people with high-quality training and are important in supporting productivity, social mobility and widening participation in higher education and employment. There are now over 170 degree-level apprenticeships available in exciting occupations such as Doctor and Nuclear Scientist. More broadly, the department has now developed nearly 700 high-quality apprenticeship standards with employers, so today nearly 70% of occupations are available via an apprenticeship.

The department has seen year-on-year growth of degree-level apprenticeships, with 229,970 starts since their introduction in the 2014/15 academic year. The department want to further accelerate the growth of degree level apprenticeships and are providing an additional £40 million over two financial years to support providers expand their offers, improving access to young people and disadvantaged groups. The department has also teamed up with UCAS so that students can now see apprenticeship vacancies on their service, putting apprenticeships on an equal footing with traditional academic routes, and continuing outreach work in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme.