Oral Answers to Questions — Business, Innovation and Skills – in the House of Commons at 9:30 am on 8 January 2015.
Rehman Chishti
Conservative, Gillingham and Rainham
9:30,
8 January 2015
What support he is providing to businesses wanting to take on apprentices.
Nicholas Boles
The Minister for Universities and Science, Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) (Jointly with the Department for Education)
Some £l70 million has been made available between 2014 and 2016 to fund more than 100,000 additional payments of the apprenticeship grant to employers, and the Government’s planned investment in apprenticeships in the current financial year totals £1.5 billion.
Rehman Chishti
Conservative, Gillingham and Rainham
Will the Minister join me in welcoming the news that in Gillingham and Rainham there were 450 intermediate, 230 advanced, and 20 high-level apprenticeship starts in 2013-14, meaning that 700 young people gained invaluable skills and experiences for future careers? Will he join me in congratulating businesses such as Jubilee Clips and Delphi in my Constituency on providing excellent engineering apprenticeships?
Nicholas Boles
The Minister for Universities and Science, Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) (Jointly with the Department for Education)
Businesses such as those my hon. Friend mentions are leading this country into recovery and ensuring that that benefits everyone in his Constituency. Since 2009-10, there has been a 73% increase in the number of new apprenticeships in his constituency, and that extraordinary figure is testament to local employers, colleges, and the local Member of Parliament.
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