Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many apprentices aged 25 and over who started an apprenticeship in 2021–22 and 2022–23 were enrolled for (1) a level 3 engineering apprenticeship, (2) a digital support technician level 3 apprenticeship, (3) a level 4 engineering apprenticeship, and (4) a level 4 software engineer or developer apprenticeship; what proportion each of these apprenticeships represents of the total number of apprenticeship starts for those aged 25 and over, in each of those years; and what proportion each represents of total starts on those specific apprenticeship standards.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The tables below contain the apprenticeship starts figures for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years:
.
Level | Sector Subject Area (SSA) tier 2 | Apprenticeship starts age 25+ | Proportion of all 25+ apprenticeship starts | Proportion of all age starts on specific SSA at level | |||
2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | ||
3 | Engineering | 3,110 | 2,780 | 1.9% | 1.7% | 16.6% | 14.6% |
4 | Engineering | 760 | 870 | 0.5% | 0.5% | 67.9% | 70.9% |
Level | Standard name | Apprenticeship starts age 25+ | Proportion of all 25+ apprenticeship starts | Proportion of all age starts on specific standard at level | |||
2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | ||
3 | Digital Support Technician | 180 | 240 | 0.1% | 0.2% | 38.9% | 52.9% |
4 | Software Developer | 510 | 440 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 49.3% | 45.9% |
Notes:
(1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
(2) Age is based on age at the start of the programme.
(3) Data source is the Individualised Learner Record.
Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of the apprenticeship levy on the uptake of apprenticeships.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Since 2010, there have been over 5.5 million apprenticeship starts. During that time, the department has built a new skills system from the ground up which better meets the needs of employers and apprentices today.
The apprenticeship levy was introduced in 2017 to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships.
There have been over 2.2 million apprenticeship starts in employers of all sizes across England since the levy was introduced. There are now over 680 high quality standards available from entry level right through to masters level, with over 5,000 employers involved in their development. There is now a much broader range of apprenticeships than ever before in occupations such as architect, cyber security, and nursing, in addition to traditional occupations like bricklayer, plumber, or hairdresser.
More apprentices are now taking higher level subjects linked to higher paid jobs in key areas. Starts on higher apprenticeships at Level 4 and above have more than doubled, from 48,150 in the 2017/18 academic year to 106,360 in the 2021/22 academic year. The department has also seen year-on-year growth of degree level apprenticeships with almost 196,000 starts since their introduction in 2014. The department is providing an additional £40 million over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and help more people access them.
The apprenticeship levy has enabled the government to increase investment in the apprenticeships system in England, reaching £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year. In the past two financial years, on average 98% of the English apprenticeship budget was spent showing strong demand by employers for high quality apprenticeships training. Large employers can use their levy contributions to fund apprenticeships in their own business, or they can transfer their funds to other businesses in their supply chain, sector or region. Funds that levy payers do not draw on are used to fund apprenticeship training in small and medium sized businesses which allows employers of all sizes to benefit from training apprentices.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Apprenticeship Levy funding is used in its entirety rather than being returned to His Majesty's Treasury.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. The levy is enabling the department to increase investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices.
In the last two financial years, on average, 98% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent. Where large employers do not make full use of their levy funds, the department reinvests this money to support apprenticeships in small and medium-sized employers who do not pay the levy. It is therefore important that the apprenticeships budget remains ring-fenced to support the demand by employers for high-quality apprenticeship training.
To make it easier for employers to make full use of their levy contributions, the department has created flexible training models, such as flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, to make apprenticeships more accessible for employers. The department has also improved the transfer system to make it easier for levy paying employers to find other employers who wish to take on new apprentices with transferred funds.
The department has worked with employers to develop over 680 high-quality apprenticeship standards, and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education will review the content of 100 apprenticeship standards in sectors like construction and healthcare by the end of December 2023, so they reflect the latest technological developments.
The department is also providing an additional £40 million over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and help more people access this provision, on top of its £8 million investment in 2022/23.
The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people in schools and further education colleges across the country through its Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme, and UCAS are expanding its service to allowing students to search for and apply to apprenticeships alongside degrees.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider the potential merits of using the apprenticeship levy to fund training in skill shortages identified by the Migration Advisory Committee.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government is supporting employers of all sizes and in all sectors, to use high-quality apprenticeships to build the skilled workforces they need, now and in the future.
Employers can access over 680 employer-designed apprenticeship standards, including in occupations which feature in the shortage occupation list, such as Level 2 Bricklayer, Level 3 Laboratory Technician, and Level 3 Lead Adult Care Worker.
The department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year and has removed the limit on the number of apprentices that small and medium-sized enterprises can recruit, supporting more employers of all sizes to grow their businesses with the skilled apprentices they need.
Employers can also continue to benefit from a range of other high-quality government funded skills programmes to recruit new talent or train current staff, including to help address skills shortages identified by the Migration Advisory Committee, such as through Skills Bootcamps in retrofitting.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an estimate of the potential impact on (a) the apprenticeship budget and (b) apprenticeship starts of permitting levy-payers to spend (i) 25% and (ii) 50% of their apprenticeship levy accounts on non-apprenticeship training.
Answered by Robert Halfon
In the last two financial years, an average 98% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent. The apprenticeships budget in England is ring-fenced for apprenticeships only and is used to fund training and assessment for all employers, both those who pay the levy and those who do not. It is therefore important that the apprenticeships budget remains ring-fenced for apprenticeships to ensure continued affordability of the programme and to ensure that employers of all sizes, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that do not pay the levy, can continue to access high-quality apprenticeships training.
If employers were able to use 25% of their levy funds for non-apprenticeships training, the department estimates that this would create an additional cost of up to approximately £700 million per annum. Allowing employers to use up to 50% of their funds for non-apprenticeship training would increase this cost to up to £1.5 billion per annum. Without making additional funding available to support this flexible use of levy funds, the department estimates that this would require a significant reduction in new apprenticeship starts to approximately 140,000 per annum. This is around a 60% decrease on the 350,000 apprenticeship starts reported for the 2021/22 academic year.
The apprenticeship levy was introduced to increase employer investment in high-quality apprenticeships training, and with the intention that large employers’ levy contributions would fund access to apprenticeships for all employers. The Government wants to support SMEs across England to offer more apprenticeship opportunities and so in April we removed the restriction on the number of apprentices SMEs can recruit. The department continues to pay for 95% of the apprentice training costs for SMEs, rising to 100% for the smallest employers recruiting apprentices under the age of 19.
Employers can already choose to spend their levy funds on any of the 680 plus apprenticeship standards available, or to transfer 25% of their funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses. They can also benefit from a range of other government-funded skills programmes, including skills bootcamps, higher technical qualifications and T Level industry placements.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the apprenticeship levy for (a) construction and (b) trade businesses.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The apprenticeship levy enables large employers to access up to 110% of their levy contributions for high-quality apprenticeships, which can equip them with the skills they need to develop and grow their workforce. It also enables the government to fund 95% of the cost of apprenticeships in small employers who do not pay the levy.
We are increasing apprenticeship funding in England to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, which will support even more people to access apprenticeships, and we have introduced flexi-job apprenticeships, making it easier for apprentices to complete their training across different projects.
We are working across government and in partnership with the construction industry, through the Construction Skills Delivery Group, to ensure apprenticeships meet the needs of employers in the sector. In 2021/22 there were over 26,000 apprenticeships starts in Construction, Planning and the Built Environment sector, an increase of 31% from 2020/21.
Employers have developed 97 standards in the Construction and the Built Environment sector including Level 2 bricklayer, Level 3 craft carpentry and joinery and the Level 6 chartered surveyor degree apprenticeships. A new version of the bricklayer standard also went live in August 2023, with funding increased by 40%, and we have increased funding for the scaffolder apprenticeship by over 20%.
We have made it easier for SMEs in construction to recruit the next generation of talent by removing the limit on the number of apprentices they can take on. We also meet 100% of the cost for the smallest employers (fewer than 50 staff) when they take on young apprentices and have simplified our levy transfer system so SMEs can more easily benefit from transferred funds.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the uptake in apprenticeships since 2020.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Apprenticeships are crucial in driving growth and social mobility. They boost businesses skills and improve people’s earnings and progression opportunities. Since the 2019/20 academic year there have been 1.33 million (provisional) apprenticeship starts across England, and we want to see this number grow.
We are increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices. We have created flexible training models, such as flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, to make apprenticeships more accessible for employers, and improved the transfer system so that levy-payers can make better use of their funds. We are also making it easier for employers to hire apprentices, and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education will review the content of 100 apprenticeship standards in sectors like construction and healthcare by the end of December 2023, so they reflect the latest technological developments.
To support more people to access degree apprenticeships, we are allocating an additional £40 million over the next two years, supporting degree apprenticeship providers to expand, and helping more people to access this provision, on top of the £8 million investment in 2022/23.
We continue to promote apprenticeships to young people in schools and further education colleges across the country through our Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme, and UCAS will be expanding its service to allowing students to search for and apply to apprenticeships alongside degrees.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of career opportunities for young people on apprenticeship schemes.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Apprenticeships provide a fantastic opportunity for people to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to progress in their chosen careers. Our employer-designed apprenticeship standards ensure that apprentices are gaining relevant industry experience in 680 different occupations.
We know apprenticeships continue to work for individuals up and down the country, with the latest data showing that 92% of apprentices go into work or further training, with 90% in sustained employment. Many apprentices remain with their employer following their apprenticeship.
Earnings for those undertaking higher apprenticeships compare well to the earnings of first-degree graduates five years on. Data shows that the median first-degree graduate earnings, five years after graduation were £28,200 compared to £30,900 for level 4 apprentices and £28,310 for level 5+ apprentices.
We want to see more young people benefitting from apprenticeships. We are increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year and continue to pay £1,000 to employers and providers when they hire young apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care plan or have been in care. From 2024, young people will also be able to apply for apprenticeships through UCAS alongside an undergraduate degree application, and we are allocating an additional £40 million over the next two years to support the expansion of degree apprenticeships which offer high-quality higher education alternatives for school leavers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potentiual role of (a) further education colleges and (b) universities in tackling the level of inequality of educational outcomes for children in the North of England.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This government is focused on levelling up opportunity so that every young person, regardless of their background or geographic location, can get the skills and training needed to secure rewarding, well-paid jobs and move up the ladder of opportunity.
To help improve people’s lives and boost the economy, the government’s skills mission sets out an ambition for 200,000 more people to complete high-quality training in England each year by 2030. This includes 80,000 more people completing courses in areas of England with the lowest skills levels.
The department wants to make sure that it is raising skill levels in the places where they are lowest, so that more people have the skills they need to get good jobs. Skills are a crucial driver of economic disparities between people and places. Boosting skills improves human capital and is a clear way to improve the earnings potential and life chances of people who have already left school.
This government has built a new skills system from the ground up, recognising that skills are crucial in driving long-term economic growth and is taking forward major reforms set out in the Skills for Jobs White Paper: delivering T Levels, boosting apprenticeships, approving Higher Technical Qualifications, rolling out Skills Bootcamps, and introducing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement from 2025. The paper is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-for-jobs-lifelong-learning-for-opportunity-and-growth.
The department would like to see more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds accessing apprenticeships which are so crucial in driving social mobility. This is why £1,000 has been provided to both employers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19- to 24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Apprentices that are under the age of 25 that have been in local authority care can also claim a bursary of £3,000.
In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the Office for Students, asking it to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education.
Prior attainment is a key determinant of successful participation in higher education. That is why the department has asked universities to take on a more direct role in driving up the standards in schools. The department wants universities to:
The department is providing £30 million of funding to Uni Connect through the Strategic Priorities (SP) Grant for 2023/24. Uni Connect delivers targeted interventions and support aimed at increasing the number of young people from under represented areas going into further and higher education by bringing together universities, colleges and local partners.
There are several Uni Connect partnerships throughout the North of England, including Inspiring Choices in York. So far, over one million young people from underrepresented groups have engaged with the Uni Connect programme.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons has there been a decline in apprenticeship starts in the 2022-23 academic year.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Since 2010, there have been over 5.5 million apprenticeship starts. During that time, we have built a new skills system from the ground up which includes introducing new apprenticeship standards that better meet the needs of employers and apprentices today. There are now over 680 apprenticeships available from entry level right through to masters level, with over 5,000 employers involved in their development.
The government has introduced world class skills opportunities benefitting people whatever age or stage of life. Individuals now have more vocational training options than ever before with the introduction of T Levels, Higher Technical Qualifications, skills bootcamps and high quality apprenticeships. As well as being dependant on individuals choosing to undertake an apprenticeship, demand for apprenticeships is also dependent on employers choosing to offer new apprenticeship opportunities.
There have been 316,940 apprenticeship starts during the first eleven months of the 2022/23 academic year between August 2022 and June 2023, compared to 328,780 reported at the same point in the previous academic year. The department expects to publish full final year data in November 2023 at the following web-address: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2022-23.
It is important to note that in 2021/22, the last full academic year for which data is available, apprenticeship starts were 8.6% higher than in 2020/21.