Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on promoting and increasing apprenticeships in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Angus.

Apprenticeship policy is devolved to Scotland, and any measures to promote apprenticeships there are a matter for the Scottish government.

In England, we want to increase the number of high-quality apprenticeships. In January we launched a major new communication campaign, ‘Fire it Up’, which seeks to change the way people think about apprenticeships and demonstrate that they are an aspirational choice for anyone with passion and energy.

National Apprenticeship week, which took place 4-8 March this year, is an annual opportunity to celebrate apprenticeships and their impact on individuals, employers, and the economy. This year’s theme, ‘Blaze a Trail’, was inspired by the Fire it Up campaign and featured in over 1250 events across the country to encourage everyone to recognise the change that apprenticeships can bring. Over 1900 features and articles appeared during the week, in media outlets as diverse as BBC Breakfast, Cosmopolitan, and the Financial Times.