Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to increase uptake of degree apprenticeships among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Education is a devolved matter and this response outlines the information for England only.

The department wants more people from disadvantaged backgrounds to benefit from apprenticeships at all levels, and is working to expand degree apprenticeships, ensuring these opportunities are accessible to young people. We are making up to £8 million available in the 2022/23 financial year to Higher Education (HE) institutions through the Strategic Priorities Grant to enable them to expand provision and form new employer partnerships.

Our ‘Get the Jump’ skills for life campaign is raising awareness and understanding of all the different education and training pathways for young people aged 14-19. The campaign will help to raise awareness of T-levels, apprenticeships and higher technical qualifications, so young people can make more informed decisions about their future.

The department continues to increase outreach to students of all backgrounds through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme. The ASK programme provides schools and further education colleges across England with a free bespoke package of comprehensive information and support about apprenticeships, ensuring that students of all backgrounds are aware of the benefits of apprenticeships, including degree apprenticeships.

The department works with employers to showcase higher and degree apprenticeship vacancies on GOV.UK. The listing published in November featured over 300 vacancies across the country from over 60 employers. These vacancies are promoted in schools and colleges through the ASK programme.

The department is working with the Office for Students to improve access to and participation in HE. We are also working with UCAS to establish the needs of young people, the people who influence their career decisions, and employers to determine how our respective systems and services can be improved so that more young people consider and secure apprenticeships.