Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprentices completed their endpoint assessment (a) on the date of, (b) one to three months after, (c) three to six months after and (d) more than six months after completing their apprenticeship in the 2021-22 academic year.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The below table shows achievers (rounded to the nearest 100) on apprenticeship standards in the 2021/22 academic year.
Months from last learning to end of EPA | Achievements | Proportion of total (%) |
EPA within a month of last learning | 12,000 | 10.5% |
EPA 1-3 months after last learning | 76,300 | 66.3% |
EPA 3-6 months after last learning | 18,200 | 15.8% |
EPA more than 6 months after last learning | 8,600 | 7.5% |
Total | 115,100 | 100% |
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11344 on Apprentices, for what reasons were there no apprenticeship starts in the two lowest funding bands in the 2022-23 academic year.
Answered by Robert Halfon
There are no apprenticeship standards that have funding bands of £1,500 and £2,000.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 10141 on Apprenticeships, whether her Department holds this data for any academic year since 2010/11.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department does not hold information on the number of apprentices starting during the 2010/11 academic year onwards that do not go on to subsequently complete their apprenticeship. Data is published on apprentices who were due to achieve (successfully complete) their apprenticeship in a particular academic year, regardless of the year they started.
The following links provide achievement rates for which we have data published going back to 2012/13:
National Achievement Rate Tables 2012/13 to 2018/19: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sfa-national-success-rates-tables.
National Achievement Rate Tables 2019/20 to 2020/21: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2021-22#content-12.
National Achievement Rate Tables 2021/22: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2022-23#content-7.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprenticeship courses were not completed in each academic year since 2016-17.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department does not hold information on the number of apprentices starting during the 2010/11 academic year onwards that do not go on to subsequently complete their apprenticeship. Data is published on apprentices who were due to achieve (successfully complete) their apprenticeship in a particular academic year, regardless of the year they started.
The following links provide achievement rates for which we have data published going back to 2012/13:
National Achievement Rate Tables 2012/13 to 2018/19: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sfa-national-success-rates-tables.
National Achievement Rate Tables 2019/20 to 2020/21: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2021-22#content-12.
National Achievement Rate Tables 2021/22: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2022-23#content-7.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many members of staff of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education are working on (a) apprenticeships, (b) T Levels, (c) Higher Technical Qualifications, (d) Level 3 and below qualifications and (e) occupational maps.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston, and a copy of this reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of how many (a) colleges and (b) universities offer Higher Technical Qualifications (i) nationally and (ii) in each English region.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is delivering reforms to increase profile, prestige, and uptake of higher technical education. Central to these reforms is the introduction of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). HTQs are level 4 and 5 qualifications (such as HNDs and Foundation Degrees) that have been approved against employer-developed standard and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IfATE). This means students and employers can have confidence that HTQs provide skills employers need.
HTQs are currently available across the country and are being taught in colleges, universities, Institutes of Technology’s (IoTs), and Independent Training Providers (ITPs) across Digital, Construction and Health & Science subjects. These qualifications give the learner the skills for a range of great jobs including Cyber Security, Quantity Surveying, Sports Coaching and Nursing Associate.
There are 140 providers approved to begin teaching of HTQs in the 2023/24 academic year available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-higher-technical-qualifications. The published list can be broken down by provider type and includes 111 FECs and 18 HEIs which are able to deliver HTQs from the 2023/24 academic year. While the data cannot be broken down by region, it is instead broken down by postcode and location. The department is updating the list of approved providers as new HTQs enter the market and more providers are onboarded to deliver the qualifications. An updated list will be ready in Spring 2024.
To support HTQ provision, £115 million in funding has been provided to colleges, universities, IoTs and ITPs to help grow provision across the country, on top of up to £300 million to create a network of 21 Institutes of Technology.
To date 172 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across seven occupational routes (Digital, Construction & the Built Environment, Health & Science, Business & Administration, Education & Early Years, Engineering & Manufacturing and Legal, Finance & Accounting), for first teach beginning between September 2022/20 to 2024.
To help HTQs be studied flexibly and around other commitments, since September 2023, HTQ learners are eligible for both tuition fee and maintenance loans whether they are studied full or part-time, on the same basis as degree level courses. HTQs will also be among the first courses eligible for modular funding when the Lifelong Learning Entitlement launches in the 2025/26 academic year.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many SMEs sit on a Trailblazer employer group convened by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked the Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston, and a copy of this reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds data on the number of T Level students who achieved a sustained positive destination in the 2022-23 academic year.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The information requested is not held by the department.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made on introducing T Levels in (a) hair, beauty and aesthetics, (b) craft and design, (c) media broadcast and production and (d) catering.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department, working closely with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), has been making progress on the four T Levels deferred in 2023.
T Levels in ‘Craft and Design’, and ‘Media, Broadcast and Production’ will be available from this September and providers will receive final specifications in order to prepare for their delivery in due course.
On ‘Hair, Barbering and Beauty Therapy’ and ‘Catering’, the department has continued to engage closely with employers. Next steps for the ‘Hair, Barbering and Beauty Therapy’ route will be announced shortly. For ‘Catering’, IfATE have completed a wider route review of Catering and will be engaging with employers and providers over the coming weeks. The department we will finalise arrangements for this T Level before the summer.
The department has also been ensuring progress is made with regard to T Levels in ‘Animal Care and Management’ and ‘Marketing’, with both proceeding on schedule for delivery in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that careers education, advice, information and guidance is compliant with section 42B of the Education Act 1997.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Section 42B of the Education Act 1997 requires schools to provide at least six opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to speak to all pupils, during school years 8 to 13.
During 2023/24, the first full academic year that the strengthened legislation has been in place, the department is supporting schools to comply and is monitoring impact. The department has introduced a ladder of support and intervention which is set out in its careers statutory guidance. This is to enforce the provider access legislation and to set out clear steps for tackling serious or persistent cases of non-compliance.
Ofsted’s school inspection handbook has been updated to make clear that if a school is not meeting the requirements of the provider access legislation, inspectors will state this in the inspection report, and take this into account when arriving at a judgement about personal development.
There is encouraging early evidence that young people’s awareness of the benefits of technical options is increasing. In the 2022/23 academic year, 92% of schools reported that most students had information about the full range of apprenticeships. 86% of schools reported that most students had meaningful encounters with further education colleges. Ofsted’s thematic review, published in September 2023, found that, in general, leaders understood their statutory responsibilities for careers, including those under the provider access legislation and they were making progress towards fully implementing the required changes.