Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to ensure young people are supported in choosing from the range of (a) technical and (b) vocational options available to them after the end of the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge contract in summer 2025.

Enabling access to apprenticeships and technical education remains a key part of this government’s education policy. There is a range of support available to schools, colleges, parents, careers and young people to support careers education and the promotion of apprenticeship and technical education options.

Young people, parents and carers, as well as schools and colleges seeking support to raise awareness of apprenticeships and technical education can continue to access:

• The Skills for Careers Apprenticeships support page, which can be found here: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/training-choice/apprenticeships.
• The Careers and Enterprise Company’s (CEC) resource directory, which is available here: https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/.
• Amazing Apprenticeships which offers a wide range of resources and support for schools and colleges.
• CEC’s network of Careers Hubs, covering 95% of schools and colleges, works with schools and colleges to support their careers education programmes.
• CEC also supports enhanced Provider Access Legislation compliance which specifies schools must provide at least six encounters with approved providers of apprenticeships and technical education.
• The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network of around 2,000 volunteers which visits institutions sharing compelling experiences about apprenticeships.