Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage people to undertake a higher level apprenticeship on completion of an apprenticeship.

Higher-level apprenticeships offer great opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds, from those starting out in their career to those looking to upskill or retrain, with over 320 apprenticeship standards at Levels 4 to 7.

Each apprenticeship standard covers a distinct occupation. Although learners do not need to have completed an apprenticeship at a lower level to start a higher-level apprenticeship, the department is continuing to promote career progression through apprenticeships.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education publishes occupational maps which show how apprenticeships and technical education support progression in each sector. This is available at: https://occupational-maps.instituteforapprenticeships.org/.

To help more people benefit from the high-quality training that higher-level apprenticeships offer, the department is investing £40 million over the next two years to expand degree apprenticeships and students can now see apprenticeship vacancies on their UCAS Hub alongside undergraduate courses.