Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to measure the effectiveness of the apprenticeships programme.

The programme aims to achieve three million apprenticeship starts by 2020 and raise the quality of apprenticeships.

We have a range of measures to assess the effectiveness of the programme, including data on the wage returns to apprenticeships, as well as annual surveys of apprentices and employers. For example, our data shows that, on average, achieving a Level 2 or Level 3 apprenticeship boosts an individual’s earnings by 11% and 16% respectively. According to our latest survey, 76% of employers say that apprenticeships improve their productivity. These reports are published at the links below:

https://www.aoc.co.uk/sites/default/files/BIS%20Estimation_of_the_labour_market_returns_to_qualifications_gained_in_English_Further_Education_-_Final_-_November_2014.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-evaluation-2015-learner-and-employer-surveys

We are working with employers and others to develop our approach towards capturing the benefits of the programme.