Department for Education written question – answered at on 31 March 2026.
Gareth Thomas
Labour/Co-operative, Harrow West
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance is being provided to businesses to help them offer work placements to undergraduates.
Gareth Thomas
Labour/Co-operative, Harrow West
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what programmes are available to encourage businesses to provide industrial secondments to university lecturers.
Josh MacAlister
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education
Economic growth is the central mission of this government and is vital to give the next generation the opportunities to thrive.
The government encourages work experience through various initiatives spanning various departments. The Department for Business and Trade published the UK’s Industrial, Trade and Small Business Strategies, which were developed in partnership with business, with positive feedback from leading business organisations. For example, the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2 billion of investment in the skills system by 2028/29.
Higher education providers are autonomous institutions and are responsible for designing and delivering their own courses. This includes decisions on whether to offer internships, work placements or industrial secondments.
It is for individual universities to work with businesses to develop and manage these opportunities in ways that best meet the needs of their students, employers and academic staff.
Yes0 people think so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
