Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2019 to Question 226704 on Local Authorities: Work Experience, whether his Department's definition of completed requires completion of the structured study programme and a minimum of 6 months with an employer.

Providers are free to design their supported internship programme (a type of post-16 study programme) to fit their local circumstances and to meet the needs of their learners. However, the following principles should be followed and met, in order for a supported internship to be recorded as completed:

• A significant majority of the intern’s time must be spent at the employer’s premises (work placements of at least 6 months). Whilst at the employer, the young person will be expected to comply with real job conditions.

• Interns must do some form of learning alongside their time at the employer, including relevant aspects of English and maths.

• Work placement jobs must work for both the young person and the employer. For the young person, the job must fit with their vocational profile, contribute to their long term career goal and be flexible to address barriers where necessary. For the employer, they must meet a real business need. As the goal is for the young person to end up in paid employment, employers taking on interns should have a job available to offer at the end of it, should the intern meet the standard.

• The provision of support to the young person and to the employer, including job coaching support.

Learning providers must complete the Individual Learner Record funding return confirming that the young person has met the core aims of their supported internship.​