Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to align apprenticeship policy with youth employment patterns.

This Government is investing in young people’s futures and reversing the sharp decline in apprenticeship starts amongst young people – which have fallen by 40% over the last decade. Over half of all apprenticeship starts are now for learners aged 25 and over.

We are investing an additional £2.5 billion into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to support nearly one million 16–24-year-olds into work, education or training. Over the next three years, this investment will deliver up to 300,000 opportunities for workplace experience and training ,and unlock up to 200,000 jobs, including through the £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and guaranteeing jobs for long-term unemployed young people on Universal Credit.

We have introduced foundation apprenticeships for 16-21-year-olds and recently expanded these into the hospitality and retail sectors which traditionally recruit significant numbers of young people. These are entry-level, paid jobs with structured training designed for young people aged 16-21 and come with a £2,000 payment for employers.

We will launch a new level 2 administrative assistant apprenticeship from August and at the same time, will make apprenticeship training for all eligible under 25s at non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) completely free of charge. In addition, we are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 for non-levy paying employers that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees.

We have also announced £140 million to test, with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, the best ways of brokering more apprenticeship opportunities for young people at the local level.