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Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

We understand the intention behind the amendment, which is to ensure that the quality of apprenticeships and the apprenticeship brand is maintained, something that I have already committed the Government to, and which I think is demonstrated by our actions. We share that commitment, and it goes to the heart of why we are legislating on apprenticeships now. An apprenticeship is a job. We see employment, particularly the apprenticeship agreement between the employer and the apprentice, as a central and fundamental part of the system of apprenticeships that we are establishing through the Bill. However, we think it is important, without in any way lowering the bar, to allow a degree of flexibility for apprentices who are working under alternative working arrangements in certain exceptional circumstances. Clause 1(6) provides some examples of the kinds of working where regulations may provide for alternative completion conditions. It is intended to provide examples and a guide to where such flexibility may be needed. For example, we recently had some problems with redundancies in retail apprenticeships. One of the ways in which those apprenticeships could have been completed might have been by working in a voluntary capacity in a retail shop. I reassure the noble Lord that in no way do we want to use this as a back door for programme-led apprenticeships, but there are circumstances where we believe that a degree of flexibility is both necessary and desirable. They will be exceptional and we will ensure that they are specifically described. We are not granting this as a general opportunity, and certainly not one that would allow the widespread creation of programme-led apprenticeships where there was not a clear employment connection.