Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of female apprenticeships in the manufacturing industry.

The proportion of females starting apprenticeships in Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies has risen from 7.3% in the 2017/18 academic year to 10.6% in the 2020/21 academic year.

The department wants to see even more women accessing traditionally male-dominated fields such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and those that offer the highest wage returns. 15% of starts in STEM apprenticeships were by women in the 2020/21 academic year, up from 11% in 2019/20 and 10% in 2018/19.

Our Apprenticeships Diversity Champions Network is championing gender representation amongst employers in industries where improvement is needed, including engineering and manufacturing. The network published a report during National Apprenticeship Week 2022 sharing best practice and hints and tips for employers to improve diversity in apprenticeships. In addition, our Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) Programme is continuing to provide free resources to promote STEM apprenticeships to girls in schools.

We are working with the Apprenticeships in Manufacturing (AiM) group, which includes industry partners such as Make UK and Enginuity, to grow the number of high-quality apprenticeships in the manufacturing sector.