Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people not being offered jobs after the completion of apprenticeship; and what assessment she has made of the most common reasons for those people not being offered jobs.

Data in SFR52/2017 ‘Further education: Outcome based success measures’ show that 85 per cent of apprentices who completed in academic year 2014/2015 continue into sustained work or further training at the end of their apprenticeship. The data can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/654370/SFR52_2017.pdf.

Data in the Apprenticeship evaluation: 2015 learner survey shows that 92% of apprentices who had completed their apprenticeship were in work. 64% of Level 2 and 3 apprentices who had completed their apprenticeship were employed by the same employer.

The locations and sectors where apprenticeships are available are determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeships and recruit apprentices. The department has not therefore made an assessment of the reasons why employers have not continued to offer employment to apprentices.

We know that many employers support apprenticeships and recognise the long-term benefits they bring to an organisation. In the Apprenticeship evaluation: 2015 employer survey, 87% of employers said they were satisfied with the programme, 76% say that productivity has improved and 75% reported that apprenticeships improved the quality of their product or service.