Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 12 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, how many Level 4 Apprentices his Department has recruited since the Finance Profession, Skills and Talent Management Strategy was revised in May 2022.

The Finance apprenticeship approach was adopted by the Department's Finance profession in February 2019. Apprenticeships are the preferred route to qualification however alternative routes to achieve the professional finance qualification include direct study with local colleges, and Government Finance Function provided programmes like CIMA Accelerated (level 7 only).

Since May 2022, the Department has onboarded 51 personnel onto the Level 4 Finance Apprenticeship.

The Department has recently concluded an external recruitment campaign for Level 4 Finance apprentices across MOD; 17 posts have been offered, with 9 people in post and the remainder undergoing vetting or working their notice periods. These apprentices will commence their studies from January 2024, and are in addition to the 51 above. DE&S, one of the Department's Enabling Organisations, has been recruiting apprentices since 2015 and since that date has externally recruited 189 personnel onto Finance Apprenticeships; the DE&S programme is a joint Level 3 and Level 4 programme.