Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to promote apprenticeships and other general aviation-related training initiatives as part of the 2018 Year of Engineering campaign.

The Government recognises the importance of the UK’s General Aviation sector and announced in October that we will be appointing a General Aviation Champion. This Champion will be tasked with engaging with the sector, developing a thorough understanding of the relevant issues, and championing the role that it plays in the economy and society, including by encouraging youth participation. We are also actively exploring the topic of skills in consultation with industry and the General Aviation sector within our Aviation Strategy.

The Year of Engineering aims to showcase and celebrate the contribution that engineering makes to today’s world by developing and promoting direct and inspiring experiences of modern engineering throughout 2018. A number of aviation companies have already signed up as Year of Engineering partners to share what they do and I would encourage more to follow and help us reach the target of a million direct experiences for young people, their families and teachers.