Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship providers operate in Southampton Itchen constituency.
There are two providers directly delivering apprenticeships in the Southampton Itchen constituency in 2016/17 funding year.
Information on the proportion of apprenticeships starts in Southampton with (a) levy-paying and (b) non-levy-paying businesses is not available. The Apprenticeships Levy comes into effect from April 2017, as part of a wider suite of reforms to improve the quality and sustainability of the apprenticeship system. There were 950 apprenticeship starts in the Southampton Itchen constituency in 2015/16.
Publication of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers on 14 March 2017 means that employers have a real choice in the training they select, so that they get the skills they need to grow their business. The Register will also support a genuine increase in the quality of training for apprentices and creates a step up in the quality expected of apprenticeship provision – ensuring that only organisations that have passed our quality tests can deliver apprenticeships. By regularly giving new providers a chance to get on the register, it will also encourage diversity and competition in the marketplace for training providers, supporting quality and employer choice – they will determine which providers they select based on business measures such as cost, timeframe and location.