Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure funding is made available for skills programmes that provide pre-engineering training for young people.

All young people should have access to high-quality education and training that meets their needs and provides them with opportunities to thrive.

Over £7 billion of 16-19 programme funding will be invested during academic year 2024/25, to ensure there is a place in education or training for every 16- to 18-year-old who wants one. The department calculates the basic funding for institutions using lagged student volumes and funding rates, which depend on the size of their students’ study programmes or T Levels. These rates are regardless of which type of institution they study at or what they study.

The Adult Skills Fund (ASF) is worth £1.34 billion this year, and funds education and skills training for those 19 and above to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. Learners aged 19-23 can get their first full level 2 and level 3 fully funded under the ASF legal entitlements.

For the 2024/25 academic year we have introduced five new funding rates that apply to the ESFA funded ASF. Under these new funding rates, 78% of qualifications are seeing an increase in funding.

The government’s reformed growth and skills levy will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers, including through new foundation apprenticeships that will give more young people a foot in the door and will support clear pathways into work-based training and employment.