Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Apprenticeships

Monday 21 June 2021 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Apprenticeships have been made more flexible, encouraging front-loaded and accelerated training.
  • There are over 480 apprenticeship standards approved that support the marine industry.
  • The Kickstart scheme subsidises wages for young people for six months.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jack Brereton Con
Education Employment
Context

The MP is concerned about the number of apprenticeships and their impact on developing skills for employers.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of apprenticeships. The MP notes that apprenticeships are a great way for employers to develop the skills they need as they recover from the pandemic.

Answer from Gillian Keegan

Apprenticeships have been made more flexible, encouraging front-loaded and accelerated training. The incentive payment has increased to £3,000 for employers hiring a new apprentice. As of 4 May, 52,719 incentive payments had been claimed.

Answered
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Q2 Cherilyn Mackrory
Employment Business & Trade
Context

The MP's constituents in Falmouth have reported a shortage of qualified maritime and marine engineers.

Question

Will she work with me to see how we can best try to accelerate the hiring and training of such apprentices in this important sector so that marine industries such as the one here in Falmouth and across the UK can thrive and prosper?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

There are over 480 apprenticeship standards approved that support the marine industry, including a level 2 apprenticeship in maritime, mechanical and electrical engineering. Over 7,000 apprenticeship starts have been recorded in Truro and Falmouth since May 2010.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for collaboration was not addressed with a concrete commitment to work together on accelerating the hiring of such apprentices.

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Q3 Jack Brereton Con
Employment Business & Trade
Context

The MP notes that only 22.5% of people in Stoke-on-Trent have an NVQ at level 4 or above, indicating a need for increasing apprenticeship uptake.

Question

Does she agree that increasing the uptake of apprenticeships in Stoke-on-Trent is key to improving skill levels and supporting local industries?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

There have been nearly 30,000 apprenticeship starts in the Stoke-on-Trent area since May 2010. The incentive payment is £3,000 to support employers hiring new apprentices and there are plans for a new Home Office centre that will create more than 500 roles with an apprenticeship-first policy.

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Q4 Toby Perkins Lab Chesterfield
Employment Business & Trade
Context

The MP references statistics showing a decline in under-19 apprenticeship starts and calls for the Government to introduce Labour's apprenticeship wage subsidy proposal.

Question

Why will the Minister not work with us and Members right across the House to introduce Labour's apprenticeship wage subsidy proposal?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

Kickstart scheme subsidises wages for young people for six months. Many sectors have been in lockdown until recently but there is an acceleration in using incentive payments. The £3,000 payment can be used to subsidise wages as employers see fit.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about collaborating on Labour's apprenticeship wage subsidy proposal was not addressed with a concrete commitment.

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