Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of professional training available within companies for existing staff seeking to upskill within their current role.

Whilst the professional development and training of employees is a matter for individual employers, we are committed to supporting employers to equip staff with the skills they need.

Through apprenticeships, the government is supporting employers of all sizes to equip their staff with the skills they need now and in the future.

Apprenticeships funding will grow to £2.7 billion by the 2024-25 financial year, the first increase to apprenticeships funding since 2019-20, as we continue to support businesses to recruit the right people and develop the skills they need.

Apprenticeships are a great way for employers in all sectors to upskill or retrain existing employees at all levels of their organisations, and to support new employees, including those starting out in their careers. We are making apprenticeships more flexible so employers can choose the apprenticeship training that works for them, and even more people can benefit. For example, accelerated apprenticeships are supporting those with industry experience to achieve occupational competence more quickly by using their prior learning and tailoring the apprenticeship to meet their needs.

Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer. For employers wanting to train their own employees through Skills Bootcamps, the government funds 70% of the cost.

Complementing this, the Free Courses for Jobs offer, which was launched in April 2021, gives eligible adults the chance to access their first level 3 qualifications for free. Employers can encourage their staff to take up courses available under this offer to upskill and access new opportunities in their current place of work.

In addition, from April 2022, any adult in England earning under the National Living Wage annually or unemployed, will also be able to access these qualifications for free, regardless of their prior qualification level.