Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to promote heritage craft and stonemasonry apprenticeships as part of the wider skills and construction workforce strategy.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Apprenticeships are a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
A range of apprenticeships, including the level 2 stonemason apprenticeship standard, are available to support employers and learners in the heritage sector to develop the skills they need.
To support more apprenticeship opportunities, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers for eligible people aged under 25. The department currently pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21 at non-levy paying employers and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Additionally, we pay £1,000 to employers of all sizes when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or aged 19 to 24 who are care leavers or have an education, health and care plan.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will list the employers which have been engaged with the Youth Guarantee scheme.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public and private sector employers, the third sector, and education and training providers are integral to the success of the Youth Guarantee. Many employers recognise that investing in young people and training their workforce drives both business success and economic growth.
We will be working closely with Youth Guarantee supporters and partners across the country to deliver jobs, apprenticeships, work experience and training places.
Employers will also benefit from a tailored DWP support service to help fill vacancies with Jobcentre candidates, including job description support, faster recruitment, vacancy promotion, use of Jobcentre space for interviews, access to the free Find a Job site, and expert advice from a dedicated Recruitment Manager.
Regarding the Jobs Guarantee for long-term unemployed young people, at this initial stage we will be delivering through partner organisations. We have started engaging with stakeholders through various forums and this will continue over the coming year.
The government will set out details of Youth Guarantee employers and partners in due course.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) private sector, (b) public sector and (c) third sector organisations have signed up to the Youth Guarantee scheme.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public and private sector employers, the third sector, and education and training providers are integral to the success of the Youth Guarantee. Many employers recognise that investing in young people and training their workforce drives both business success and economic growth.
We will be working closely with Youth Guarantee supporters and partners across the country to deliver jobs, apprenticeships, work experience and training places.
Employers will also benefit from a tailored DWP support service to help fill vacancies with Jobcentre candidates, including job description support, faster recruitment, vacancy promotion, use of Jobcentre space for interviews, access to the free Find a Job site, and expert advice from a dedicated Recruitment Manager.
Regarding the Jobs Guarantee for long-term unemployed young people, at this initial stage we will be delivering through partner organisations. We have started engaging with stakeholders through various forums and this will continue over the coming year.
The government will set out details of Youth Guarantee employers and partners in due course.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many providers of (a) apprenticeships, (b) training and (c) education have signed up to the Youth Guarantee scheme.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public and private sector employers, the third sector, and education and training providers are integral to the success of the Youth Guarantee. Many employers recognise that investing in young people and training their workforce drives both business success and economic growth.
We will be working closely with Youth Guarantee supporters and partners across the country to deliver jobs, apprenticeships, work experience and training places.
Employers will also benefit from a tailored DWP support service to help fill vacancies with Jobcentre candidates, including job description support, faster recruitment, vacancy promotion, use of Jobcentre space for interviews, access to the free Find a Job site, and expert advice from a dedicated Recruitment Manager.
Regarding the Jobs Guarantee for long-term unemployed young people, at this initial stage we will be delivering through partner organisations. We have started engaging with stakeholders through various forums and this will continue over the coming year.
The government will set out details of Youth Guarantee employers and partners in due course.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to funding eligibility for Level 7 apprenticeships on access to architectural training; and what discussions have taken place with stakeholders regarding age limits and future funding arrangements.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question UIN 57098.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to expand apprenticeship and training programmes for engineering roles supporting digital and energy infrastructure development.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, backed by £725 million of additional investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy.
In August 2025 we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. The first foundation apprenticeships are focussed on industrial strategy and priority areas, they include engineering and manufacturing, software and data, and hardware, network and infrastructure.
Additionally, from April 2026, employers will also be able to access short, flexible training courses to help respond quickly to evolving skills needs. The first wave of these courses will be called apprenticeship units, and they will be available in critical skills areas such as engineering and digital.
Following commitments made in the Industrial Strategy, the Post 16 Education and Skills White Paper announced an £182 million engineering skills package, with the aim of helping to address the engineering skills needed in priority sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and digital and technology.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the apprenticeship funding rules have been reviewed to reflect the operation of section 3C leave under the Immigration Act 1971, which ensures lawful and uninterrupted permission to work for individuals transitioning to Indefinite Leave to Remain during the course of an apprenticeship.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The apprenticeship funding rules are reviewed each year. Currently providers are not permitted to start learners on apprenticeships if they are unable to complete the apprenticeship within the time available. For example, because their visa will expire, or because they have a fixed-term contract that is shorter than the duration of the apprenticeship. This applies to all learners including UK nationals (whose contract will expire) and foreign nationals (whose visa will expire). The rules do not differentiate between those on different visas.
This rule ensures that learners can complete an apprenticeship within the time they have available, including the end-point assessment. It ensures that public funds are protected and prevents investment in someone who is ultimately unable to complete their course, for example, because their circumstances have changed and they are not able to extend their residency. The rule is in place to protect public funds where continued residency rights are not certain.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will he provide an estimate for the number of people who will take up apprenticeship training at small and medium-sized businesses under the Government’s new scheme for under-25s.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
To meet this government’s ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, including at small and medium-sized enterprises, we are taking a range of action backed by an additional £725m of investment announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor at Autumn Budget.
We are expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launching a £140 million pilot to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities and fully funding SME apprenticeship training for eligible 16–24-year-olds from August 2026.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to expand apprenticeship opportunities in high-demand sectors.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer which will deliver greater flexibility for employers and learners, and support the industrial strategy. At Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced additional investment of £725m to deliver the next phase of the Growth and Skills Levy.
In August, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, such as construction and health and social care, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.
We recently announced that the next wave of foundation apprenticeships would be rolled out in sectors such as retail and hospitality.
From April 2026, employers will also be able to access short, flexible training courses in critical skills areas such as artificial intelligence, digital and engineering to help respond quickly to evolving skills needs.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Department will provide a list of employers who will provide the additional work experience placements and additional bespoke training opportunities announced on December 8 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We will be working closely with Youth Guarantee supporters and partners across the country to deliver jobs, apprenticeships, work experience and training places. The government will set out details of Youth Guarantee employers and partners in due course.