Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to evaluate the effectiveness of her Department's policy on the value of reorganised qualifications in apprenticeship standards.

Qualifications should not generally be needed within an apprenticeship as the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve this.

Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without it.

The Institute for Apprenticeships will take over responsibility for ensuring the quality of Apprenticeships standards from April 2017 and will advise the Government on policy implications or trends emerging through the standards approvals process.