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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets he has set for the number of small and medium-sized enterprises engaged with the Modern Apprenticeship scheme in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05; what measures he has developed for assessing employer engagement in Modern Apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement. [169470] Mr. Ivan Lewis: [holding answer 14 May 2004]: We have not set any targets for the number of SMEs to be engaged in Apprenticeships. The "Learning and Training at Work" survey assesses employer involvement in apprenticeships by firm size and sector. The last survey in 2002 revealed that 5 per cent. of employers were involved in Advanced Modern Apprenticeships and 4 per cent. were involved in Foundation Modern Apprenticeships. This equates to around 36,000 employers of which two-thirds are SMEs. The Department and Learning and Skills Council are considering the most effective way to collect data on employer involvement in the future. It is crucial, however, to the success of Apprenticeships and in meeting the high demand from young people, that more employers, including SMEs, are involved. Therefore on 10 May 2004, a television advertising campaign started directed at engaging with more employers and there will be direct marketing to employers of all sizes. The Modern Apprenticeship Task Force, chaired by Sir Roy Gardner, has increasing employer engagement as its primary function and good progress is being made. The taskforce is due to report in autumn 2004.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

169470; 421 c923-4W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Apprentices Small businesses Modern apprenticeships

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk