Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has a set a target on increasing the range of employers and industries offering Degree Apprenticeships in the (a) UK and (b) North East; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current range of apprenticeships available.

Level 6 and 7 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.

The department wants to further accelerate the growth of higher and degree apprenticeships across all regions and encourage higher education (HE) providers to expand their existing offers, or develop new ones. The department is therefore providing an additional £40 million in Strategic Priorities Grant funding over the next two years, on top of the £8 million investment in the 2022/23 financial year. This funding will help to ensure people can access professions which have historically been reserved for those with a traditional degree.

The department continues to promote degree level apprenticeships to employers in all sectors and regions, and it is for individual employers to choose which apprenticeships they offer, and at what level, according to their needs.

The department is working hard to ensure that young people across the country get the right information to help them decide on the best route for their future. From autumn 2023, UCAS will expand their service so that young people can see more personalised options, including degree apprenticeships. From 2024, students will then be able to apply for apprenticeships alongside degrees, meaning young people can find the right option for them, all in one place.

There are now a wide range of degree level apprenticeships available for individuals and employers to choose from. The department’s reforms introduced industry-designed apprenticeship standards to ensure that apprenticeships deliver the skills that employers need. Employers have developed almost 160 standards at degree level, including Doctor, Construction Quantity Surveyor and Midwife. Where employers identify an occupation gap, they can work with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE) to develop a new apprenticeship.

The department has seen a 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 (August 2022 to January 2023), and volumes are up by 12% when compared to the same period in 2021/22 (29,580).