Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.

The Northern Ireland Office remains committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government’s commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

As a department, the Northern Ireland Office annually recruits a Communication Apprentice through the Government Communications Service.