Written question asked by Alex Cunningham (Labour) on Friday, 16 October 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 20 October 2015. It was answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative) on Thursday, 22 October 2015 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Army: Apprentices

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of soldiers have been awarded the Public Services apprenticeship without having attained Level 2 in English and mathematics or having sat a test at Level 2 in English and mathematics as part of their apprenticeship course.

Answer: The Army is compliant with the Government policy requiring apprenticeships to offer learners training to Level 2 English and Mathematics where that level has not already been achieved; however apprentices are only required to pass Level 1 to complete their apprenticeship. In 2014-15, around 20% of those soldiers who achieved a Public Service Apprenticeship also achieved a qualification at Level 2 in English or Maths, or both, during the course of their apprenticeship. Information is not held centrally for those learners who had already achieved that level of qualification (or equivalent) prior to enrolment and are therefore not required to take further qualifications at that stage, or for those who have studied at Level 2, but did not achieve the qualification.

Secondary information