Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) all apprenticeship courses started and (b) the amount apprenticeship levy spent were for (i) Level 6 and (ii) Level 7 apprenticeships in each year since 2016.

Degree-level apprenticeships provide people with high-quality training, and are important in supporting productivity, social mobility, and widening participation in higher education and employment. There are now 159 standards at degree level (Level 6 and 7), including Doctor, Construction Quantity Surveyor and Midwife. The department is providing an additional £40 million in Strategic Priorities Grant funding over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers in expanding and helping more people access this provision, on top of our £8 million investment in the 2022/23 financial year.

We have seen year-on-year growth of degree-level apprenticeships with almost 180,000 starts since their introduction in the 2014/15 academic year. Starts at levels 6 and 7 now represent 16.2% of all starts (33,180) so far this year (Aug-Jan), and volumes are up by 12% when compared to the same period in 2021/22 (29,580).

The table below shows the proportion of apprenticeship starts at Level 6 and Level 7 in each academic year since 2016/17.

The table below shows the apprenticeships spend on Levels 6 and 7, rounded to the nearest £ million. This is the total spend for apprenticeships at Levels 6 and 7 by both levy-paying and non-levy paying employers and includes apprenticeships started in previous years.