asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What are the completion rates for apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships.

My Lords, the most recent provisional figures for 2006-07, collected for management information purposes, show completion rates of 65.1 per cent for apprenticeships and 64.2 per cent for advanced apprenticeships. The figures are provisional until publication of the LSC’s outcomes statistical first release in April 2008, which will confirm the final results for 2006-07.

My Lords, I thank the Minister, although it would have been better if we had known what that was 65 per cent of. However, he will no doubt agree that a completed apprenticeship is enormously valuable to the individual and to the country as a whole. Last year, the All-Party Group on Arts and Heritage met employers in construction skills and heard that most of the expertise is in the small firms. Those firms are very willing to train apprentices but find that they lose out badly when they do; not only do they incur a financial loss in training but the people they train are in such demand that they leave for better-paid jobs. Does the Minister agree that the answer is to directly fund employers that provide this specialised training to ensure that they can continue to provide it? Will he assure us that that will be taken into consideration?

My Lords, I am well aware that many employers feel that it would be better if there was direct funding, for precisely the reasons that the noble Baroness describes. However, a great many small employers have said that they would rather group their activity because they do not find it administratively efficient to do it directly themselves. That has been the overwhelming evidence from the small and medium-sized business sector. I think we will find that one size does not fit all and that we will need to respond to the different kinds of business case in the ways that those businesses think are most effective.

My Lords, will further thought be given to the award of an apprenticeship diploma to recognise the achievement of those who do complete apprenticeships?

My Lords, the alignment of different qualifications for those coming through further education or for adults who go through these courses is obviously important. We have the general introduction of diplomas and other arrangements in further education, a matter on which I know the noble Baroness is an expert, and it is critical that the outcome of an apprenticeship should be recognised within a scheme that bears relationship across all of those. Fortunately, the preparatory work is being done by the same groups and we have every reason to think that an alignment of qualifications will be achieved.

My Lords, is there not evidence to suggest that the quality of entrants to apprenticeship programmes is being undermined by our target of 50 per cent of people going into higher education?

My Lords, I do not think that my noble friend is right. The entry qualifications to get into an apprenticeship either at the basic level, level 2, or the advanced level, level 3, are boundaries that employers are setting in terms of the outcomes they seek. I would prefer that that was decided by employers rather than in Whitehall, as I think that we are likely to get the people we need in the economy more effectively that way. I do not think that people going into higher education per se makes the difference, but I certainly would like to see schools consider alternatives to higher education where that is more appropriate for the young person involved.

My Lords, according to the Leitch review of skills, over one-third of adults of working age in the UK do not have a basic school-leaving qualification and 5 million adults have no qualifications at all. What plans do the Government have to widen adults’ access to apprenticeships?

My Lords, the plan overall is that there should be a considerable advance in the availability of apprenticeships to adults. It will be essential to raise the standards of many of those leaving school at 16 if we are to drive through to people continuing to 18, and some of the plans which my right honourable friend Ed Balls has announced to ensure one-to-one mentoring of young people who have not achieved appropriate literacy and numeracy standards are intended to ensure that those young people are prepared for the world of apprenticeship.

My Lords, will the Minister consider whether there could be sufficient provision in the foundation level and in additional and specialised learning in the diplomas to enable people who see themselves as apprentices to get sufficient hands-on practical work?

My Lords, some of the streams that have been identified in the new diplomas will have exactly that effect. The new diplomas have not been rolled out yet, and whether they have the whole of that effect will be seen in practice rather than just in theory. I will ensure that the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Dearing, is drawn to the attention of those working on the pathways through diplomas to ensure that we get that outcome.

My Lords, is the Minister aware that there is excess demand for apprenticeships from young people and that not enough places are currently being provided by employers? What plans do the Government have to encourage employers to take on more apprentices?

My Lords, I know that some of the evidence about the extent of demand is anecdotal, but as I said in response to the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham, last Monday, I completely accept the credibility of the argument put by the noble Baroness. It is essential that the work that the CBI and other partners are doing to encourage more employers into the sphere is undertaken with great energy. At the moment, about 130,000 employers are engaged in the scheme. We believe that that number can be increased considerably. With the leadership of businesses such as Tesco and Rolls-Royce, which are putting in a good deal of effort, for which I commend them, into growing the number of employers, there are good prospects that we will increase those numbers considerably.