Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help increase the number of construction apprenticeships in (a) Slough constituency and (b) the South East.

This government has committed to widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners across the country, including in Slough and the South East. It will also align with the industrial strategy, creating routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries, such as construction.

As a first step, this will include shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors, helping more people learn new high-quality skills at work, fuelling innovation in businesses across the country and providing high quality entry pathways for young people.

In addition, as part of this government’s ambitious plan to rebuild Britain and deliver 1.5 million homes in England in this Parliament, 32 new Homebuilding Skills Hubs will deliver fast-track training in critical areas such as bricklaying, groundwork, and site carpentry to boost housebuilding and drive forward the government’s growth mission. Hubs will be established in areas where large-scale homebuilding projects lead to a surge in demand. These Hubs will help deliver around 5,000 more construction apprenticeship places per year by 2027/28, through a £140 million industry investment to get Britain building again.