Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2023 to Question 71 on Defence: Training, how many and what proportion of the non-commissioned military recruits who were offered an apprenticeship after their training subsequently took up an apprenticeship.

Over 95% of all non-commissioned recruits are offered an apprenticeship aligned to their trade training, and over 99% of these take up the apprenticeship. Apprenticeships in the Armed Forces are integrated into the Service’s offer and recruitment; individuals must formally opt out, rather than choose to opt in. As of September 2023, 25,187 Service people are on an apprenticeship programme.