Apprentices: Assessments

(asked on 17th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the percentage of apprentices required to complete Functional Skills Level 2 qualifications in (1) Maths, (2) English, and (3) Information and Communication Technology, during the course of their apprenticeship; and how this figure varies by ethnicity.


Answered by
Baroness Berridge Portrait
Baroness Berridge
This question was answered on 29th March 2021

We publish data which shows the number of apprentices enrolling on funded level 2 functional skills qualifications during their apprenticeship. We cannot determine if these qualifications are required in order to achieve the overall apprenticeship. We do not publish breakdowns of this data by ethnicity.

Not all apprentices are required to achieve level 2 functional skills by the end of their apprenticeship. An apprentice may have already obtained the required level of English and maths for the apprenticeship either via GCSEs, functional skills qualifications, or accepted equivalent qualifications, prior to starting their apprenticeship. The current and prior qualifications accepted as meeting the minimum English and maths requirements for apprenticeships can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-and-maths-requirements-in-apprenticeship-standards-at-level-2-and-above.

In general, level 2 apprentices without the required level of English and maths will need to achieve level 1 functional skills, and apprentices at level 3 and above will need to achieve level 2 functional skills. There are exceptions to the regular English and maths minimum requirements for people with special educational needs, learning difficulties or disabilities. These are set out in the apprenticeship funding rules: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apprenticeship-funding-rules. The achievement of information and communication technology functional skills is only a requirement of some apprenticeships.

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