Clause 8

Part of Education and Skills Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 1:15 pm on 7 February 2008.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of John Hayes John Hayes Shadow Minister (14-19 Reform and Apprenticeships) 1:15, 7 February 2008

I do not want to digress into apprenticeships, for you would not allow me to do so, Mr. Bercow. I used apprenticeships as an example owing to the doubts supported by evidence and expressed by a number of people that in those programmes—not only programme-led apprenticeships, but level 2 and 3 apprenticeships—there was insufficient mentoring and guided learning. If that applied to apprenticeships, would it not apply all the more so to other training? I think that the Minister has made it clear that the Bill sets out a series of parameters. However, to be even more helpful, how will that vary according to the size of companies and sectors? Clearly different sectors of the workplace have different imperatives and that it will be a much greater imposition on very small companies than on very large ones.