Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that businesses continue to have access to a workforce with sufficient creative and design-linked skills.

Our reforms to professional and technical education and apprenticeships are aimed at ensuring that people of all ages get access to the education and training that businesses across the sectors need.

Both apprenticeships and T levels, when they are introduced, can be a valuable way of developing skills for the creative and design sectors.

Employer-designed T levels will give students the skills needed to enter work or higher level technical study, helping young people to get a head-start in their potential careers. The first 3 T levels will be delivered in 2020, and we will confirm the timetable for the rollout of courses in creative and design before the end of this year.

New apprenticeship standards across all levels are being designed and driven by industry – creating higher quality training that will lead to a more skilled and productive economy. There are 23 Creative and Design Apprenticeship Standards approved for delivery with 6 standards currently in development.

The National College for Creative Industries, opened in September 2016, is one of 4 national colleges which we are establishing to set new standards for higher-level technical training.