Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he and Ministers in his Department have had with Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the proposed reform of apprenticeships; what effect those discussions will have on his Department's projects and the work of their supply chain; and whether officials in his Department sit on programme boards managing the reform.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is pleased to be recognised as the single largest deliverer of apprenticeships in the UK. Apprenticeships are firmly embedded across Armed Forces initial training, with, for example, 95% of Army recruits enrolling in an apprenticeship each year, most of whom complete within two years. The MOD is also the largest deliverer of civilian apprenticeships across Government Departments.

The Government’s apprenticeship reform programme is aimed at ensuring apprenticeships in England become more rigorous and more responsive to the needs of employers. MOD officials do not sit on the programme boards, and this programme has not been the subject of Ministerial discussions between MOD and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). However, I can confirm that senior MOD officials are fully engaged with their BIS counterparts as we look to influence the implementation of this reform and to develop MOD policy in support of it.

It is in the MOD’s interests to ensure its supply chain contains personnel with the skills required to support defence interests. To that end the MOD seeks to reflect wider supply chain training requirements through bodies such as the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP).

MOD officials are engaged with BIS on the development of new Trailblazer apprenticeships to meet MOD and wider defence industry needs. In the context of the Aerospace Trailblazer Group the RAF has collaborated with major employers such as BAE and Airbus to produce apprenticeship standards for the manufacture of aircraft. Another example is the Supply Chain and Logistics Operations Trailblazer. This is divided into four main areas; Warehouse Operations, Specialist Driving, Specialist Operative and Port Operations. The MOD is represented on the committees responsible for the development of standards for each of these main areas.