Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 137257, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the uptake of apprenticeships in the hospitality sector.

Apprenticeships provide people of all ages with the opportunity to earn and learn the skills needed to start, or progress in, an exciting career in the hospitality sector. Employers in the hospitality sector can access a range of high-quality apprenticeship standards to meet their skills needs, including the level 2 Commis Chef apprenticeship and the level 4 Hospitality Manager apprenticeship.

We are committed to supporting more employers and apprentices to benefit from the high-quality training that an apprenticeship offers, and we are increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024-25 financial year. This funding will support apprenticeships in non-levy employers, often small and medium-sized enterprises, where the government will continue to pay 95% of training costs. We also continue to provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged between 16 and 18 years old, helping to support younger people into apprenticeships.

To encourage more young people to consider apprenticeships, we are promoting apprenticeships in schools and colleges through our Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge programme. This free service provides resources and interventions to help better educate young people about apprenticeships and has reached over 2 million students across England since its introduction in the 2016/17 academic year. In February, during National Apprenticeship Week, I wrote to all year 11, 12 and 13 pupils and their parents to tell them about the great opportunities offered through apprenticeships.

We are also promoting apprenticeships through our new ‘Get the Jump’ and ‘Skills for Life’ campaigns which are raising awareness and understanding of the full range of education and training choices available to young people and adults.