Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral Answer of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of 6 July 2017, Official Report, column 1297, on the number of people over 60-years old who started apprenticeships, what steps her Department is taking to promote apprenticeships for women over 59-years old.

Apprenticeships offer a route into skilled employment for people of all ages and backgrounds. This could include a young person starting out in their first job, an existing employee up-skilling, or a more experienced worker re-training or re-entering the workforce.

We are implementing apprenticeship reforms to continue to improve the quality of apprenticeships for all, providing the skills that employers need to reach our commitment of 3 million starts in England by 2020.

We regularly communicate the benefits of apprenticeships and prospective apprentices can use Find an Apprenticeship to search and apply for apprenticeship vacancies in England. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship.

Our Diversity Champions Network is championing gender representation in apprenticeships amongst employers in industries where improvement is needed.