To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of (a) part-time and (b) full-time students enrolled on full-time level 3 courses have their fees paid for by their employers. (195314)

Through the Train to Gain Programme, we are committed to ensuring that FE colleges are increasingly responsive to employers’ needs and provide training in which employers will increasingly choose to invest. We do not currently routinely collect information on payment of fees by employers, but some information is available from surveys of learners. The last such survey was of learners who completed an FE course in 2003/04. It found that 30 per cent. of the learners doing full level 3 courses said their course fees were paid for by their employer, compared with 18 per cent. of non-full level 3 FE learners.