Written question asked by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Tuesday, 28 April 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 April 2009. It was answered by Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 May 2009 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Apprentices

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department has taken to publicise the apprenticeship programme for 16 to 18 year-olds in (a) rural areas and (b) Cheshire; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Local Connexions services and other information, advice and guidance agencies publicise the Apprenticeships programme across the whole country, covering both urban and rural areas, including Cheshire. Our new national Apprenticeship on-line system for vacancy matching provides access to Apprenticeship vacancies for all potential apprentices. The national advertising campaign, fronted by Sir Alan Sugar, ran successfully in February and March, generating over 4,000 employer leads and increasing visitors to the Apprenticeships website to 100,000 a week.The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill currently before Parliament will place a duty on the Chief Executive of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) to promote Apprenticeships to employers and apprentices, and we would expect rural areas to be covered by this commitment. We are also working with the Commission for Rural Communities to research particular issues around increasing the number of Apprenticeship places in rural areas.The NAS team for Cheshire are working with employers across the county to develop Apprenticeship opportunities, and work with Connexions and other agencies to ensure that young people have the information and support they need to access them.

Secondary information