Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Apprenticeship Opportunities: Schools

Monday 11 March 2024 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Andrew Selous asked about steps to ensure school pupils are informed about apprenticeship opportunities.
  • The Minister responded that the law has been strengthened so schools must offer pupils at least six education and training programs, including apprenticeships.
  • Andrew Selous highlighted the work of Vandyke Upper School in promoting apprenticeships and asked how to encourage more schools to follow suit.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Andrew Selous Con
Education Employment
Context

The MP is concerned about the lack of information provided to students regarding apprenticeship opportunities, which are crucial for their future career paths.

Question

What steps she is taking to ensure school pupils are informed about apprenticeship opportunities. The MP notes that not all schools provide adequate information on apprenticeships despite their importance and potential impact on students' lives.

Answer from Robert Halfon

My hon Friend is a champion of FE and skills—he has asked a lot of questions about the subject over the past months. We want apprenticeships to be part of the careers conversations in every school. We have strengthened the law so that schools must offer pupils at least six education and training provider encounters. We have invested £3.2 million in the apprenticeship skills and knowledge network, which reached over 2,300 schools and colleges in 2022-23.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for ensuring every school informs students about apprenticeships was not directly addressed with concrete commitments or timelines.

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Q2 Andrew Selous Con
Education
Context

The MP references a visit to Vandyke Upper School, which effectively promotes apprenticeships. However, not all schools follow this practice, highlighting the need for uniform information dissemination.

Question

Vandyke Upper School in Leighton Buzzard tells every student about apprenticeships and has an excellent apprenticeships ambassador. As the Minister will know, sadly not every school does this. Most teachers have been to university and they may not know about apprenticeships, so what can we do to ensure that every school tells every student about apprenticeships, as Vandyke Upper School does, because they can be life-transforming for the right students?

Answer from Robert Halfon

My hon Friend speaks a lot of wisdom. I congratulate Vandyke Upper School on its work. I have been to apprenticeship fairs and careers days at the Oasis Academy in Brislington. Huge amounts of work are going on with the Careers & Enterprise Company and the apprenticeship ambassador network, to ensure that there is a network member engaged at every secondary school and college.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for concrete actions to ensure all schools promote apprenticeships was not directly addressed with clear commitments or timelines.

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