Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specific measures she is taking to support young people into a careers in farming a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.

Specialist land-based providers, such as South Staffordshire College and Reaseheath College, are supporting around 700 learners aged 16 to 18 in Staffordshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme to complete programmes in agriculture-related subjects, alongside learners completing apprenticeships and adult learners funded through the Adult Skills Fund.

Qualifications available include T Levels in Agriculture, Land Management and Production and Animal Care and Management, designed specifically to support students looking to enter careers in farming. T Levels include a mandatory industry placement, so students get real-world experience of the industry. A range of agricultural apprenticeships are also available.

We will introduce V Levels across England in the Agriculture and Land Management, and Animal Care and Management subject areas, and Occupational Certificates in subjects such as Land-Based Service Engineer and General Farm Worker, for first teaching in 2029/30 to support young people to explore and enter farming careers, subject to final content development.

The Stoke and Staffordshire Careers Hub connects education providers, employers and partners to offer young people valuable exposure to agriculture and food production careers.