To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

(1) how many apprenticeships his Department offered to people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 21 and (c) 22 to 26 years old in each year since 2010;

(2) what strategies he has to create apprenticeships in his Department; and what plans he has to promote such strategies.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) offers a range of internship and work experience schemes which are designed to support the FCO's future work force requirements, but is not currently offering formal apprenticeship schemes. We will keep this under review.

FCO Services, a Trading Fund of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, does offer apprenticeships and will continue to recruit about 10 Technical Engineering apprentices annually to its successful Engineering Apprentice programme run in partnership with Milton Keynes College. Their programme is promoted using local and national media, careers fairs and other events and through the National Apprenticeship Service website. In 2012, FCO Services ran an IT trainee scheme for the first time. They are also developing a Project Management Higher Apprentice programme and plan to recruit to this programme in the next 12 months advertising the opportunity using a range of communication tools.

The number of apprenticeships offered by FCO Services to people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 21 and (c) 22 to 26 years old in each year since 2010 are as follows: