Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that employers accord degree apprenticeships the same esteem as traditional university degrees.

The Government wants young people to have the opportunity to access high quality degree level training, whether through a full-time undergraduate route or a world-class degree apprenticeship.

Both traditional degrees and new degree apprenticeships meet the high quality criteria expected of a higher education qualification. Degree Apprenticeships are designed by groups of employers working with higher education institutions, and provide a valuable route for people to obtain a degree-level qualification alongside training for a career, with the prospect of a job from day one

Degree apprenticeships will feature in the new communications campaign being launched in May, promoting the benefits of apprenticeships to employers and young people.