The All Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships is a cross-party group of MPs and Peers which provides a forum for parliamentarians and employers to discuss how to promote the role of high quality apprenticeships.

About the Group

The Group works to ensure that apprenticeships serve as a pathway to a career and how the apprenticeship model can meet the changing skill demands from businesses. The Group has heard from all the top apprenticeship experts, including recent Ministers or Skills, top civil servants and business groups but most importantly from apprentices themselves.

New report published

The APPG on Apprenticeships have today, Tuesday 08 March, published its inquiry report; Supporting apprenticeships in the Ministry of Defence (MoD): Assessing the quality, progression, and potential.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships, ran by cross-party parliamentarians, took evidence from leading officials at the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Minister, Leo Docherty MP, as well as current and former MoD apprentices and industry to assess the quality, progression, and potential for improving apprenticeships in the sector.

Apprenticeships APPG Co-Chair and inquiry Chair, Jack Lopresti MP, said:

“The MoD will play a prominent role in achieving the Government’s levelling-up ambitions and supporting the UK’s economic recovery as we look to the future. I hope the Government supports the inquiry’s recommendations to better promote defence apprenticeships in the education system, along with increasing the availability and accessibility of apprenticeships in the MoD and wider defence sector to students. I also hope to see the Government and industry work closely to develop the transferable skills apprentices can master for their future careers within the MoD and the wider sector.”

Read Full Report.

Group Chair

Co-Chair: Emma Hardy MP, Labour, Hull West and Hessle
emmahardy.org.uk
@EmmaHardyMP

Emma was elected in 2017 and as a former primary school teacher, Emma has always had long-standing interest in education. She was a member of the Education Select Committee from 2017 until 2019. In 2019, Emma was appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Higher and Further Education and has been a passionate advocate for apprenticeships and further education. Emma works to highlight the improved social mobility and support to regional economies that apprenticeships can provide.

Co-Chair: Jack Lopresti MP
Conservative, Filton and Bradley Stoke
www.jacklopresti.com
@JackLopresti

Jack Lopresti was first elected as MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke in 2010. He has had a long and varied career as a local councillor and army reservist, after working in his family ice cream business for over ten years after leaving school. Jack Lopresti has served on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Armed Forces Bill Committee and Defence Committee. Jack was the Chair of the APPG on Apprenticeships in 2015 and has frequently advocated for apprentices in the House of Commons.

Information on all the group’s officers can be found here.

The Apprenticeships Levy – Five Years On

Date: Tuesday 17 May, 3-4pm

Venue: Hybrid Setting

This session will discuss the successes and challenges of the apprenticeship levy. It will aim to explore innovative ways of utilising levy funding and discuss the current changes made to the levy, while also touching on the levy share and employers who have benefitted from it.

We will be hearing from speakers from Engineering UK, Health Education England and the British Retail Consortium.

We would be delighted if you could join us for this session. If you wish to join us in person at a venue in the House of Commons (exact venue to be confirmed closer to the time), please email: apprenticeshipsappg@connectpa.co.uk separately.

Due to limited room capacity, seating will work on a first come first served basis. We will email a week prior to the event to inform you if you are able to attend in person. Everyone will be able to join through the Zoom link, which will be sent out closer to the time

Register to attend

Parliamentary Apprenticeships Fair

Date: Tuesday 24 May, 2.15-4pm

Venue: Attlee Suite, House of Commons

The fair will provide an opportunity to meet apprentices and to hear about their experiences of their apprenticeships and their thoughts on what could be done to improve apprenticeship provision. The following organisations will be attending and bringing apprentices:

London South Bank University
Babcock International
WMG at the University of Warwick
BAE Systems
Amazon
The Open University
Co-op
KPMG

Register to attend

News & Views

Apprenticeships in a post-Brexit world

Despite years of repeated warm words and commitments, it’s clear the Government has failed to resolve the skills crisis facing UK plc, with studies suggesting as many as nine out of ten firms across the country struggle to recruit the skilled workforce they need.

Even with the highest level of unemployment and lowest level of employment of any English region, many businesses in my own part of the world – the North East – continue to report difficulties in recruiting the right staff, and regularly raise concerns about the mismatch that persists between the skills available in the labour market and the needs of local firms.

View the The All Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships Updates Archive »

Group Sponsors

Group materials

Contact the Group

Connect provide the Secretariat to the Group on behalf of the Group sponsors. For further information please contact the secretariat on 0207 592 9592 or ApprenticeshipsAPPG@connectpa.co.uk

This is not an official website of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in these webpages are those of the group

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