Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve post-16 education pathways for students not choosing higher education.

As announced in the spending review, the department is making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29. This will support and grow the wide range of technical routes and work-based training available for people of all ages across the country. This includes:

• Widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, including new foundation apprenticeships, which will give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working life.
• T levels, which are a high quality technical education option for young people, including a valuable workplace industry placement which prepares them work.
• Higher Technical Qualifications, which are occupation-focused level 4-5 qualifications, approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers.
• Skills Bootcamps, giving learners the chance to build sector-specific skills with a job interview on completion and free courses for jobs, giving learners the chance to access high value level 3 qualifications.

The department has also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.