To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of apprenticeships in the design sector. (234031)

In our strategy document, “Creative Britain: New Talents for a New Economy”, we commit to encouraging employers to establish up to 5,000 apprenticeships in the creative industries by 2013. This includes employers in the design sector. Representatives from both Creative and Cultural Skills and the Design Council will sit on our official-level Apprenticeship Working Group. This will look at how to increase the number of apprenticeships in existing frameworks, whether there is demand for new frameworks and whether it is possible to convert existing employer-led training schemes into Government-supported apprenticeships.