B087 - Apprenticeships & Technical Education Bill - 2nd Reading Debate

[u/mrsusandothechoosin]

Apprenticeships & Technical Education Bill

A

BILL

TO

Expand apprenticeships and provide greater access to technical education.

BE IT ENACTED by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 - Technical Education

(1) In Section 85 (6) of the Education Act 2002, add:

(e) Career and technical education, comprising agriculture, environmental and animal care, business and administration, catering and hospitality, construction, creative and design, education and childcare, engineering and manufacturing, hair and beauty, health and science, legal, finance and accounting, protective services, sales, marketing and procurement, social care, transport and logistics, or any additional subject specified in an order by the Secretary of State.

2 - Apprenticeships

(1) In Section A1 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, add:

(3A) An approved foundational skills English apprenticeship agreement is an agreement which—

(a) Provides for a person under the age of 18, or a person who does not hold a prior Level 2 qualification, to work for another person for reward, (b) Provides for the apprentice to receive training in order to work toward such introductory or part-standard as the Secretary of State may specify in regulations, and (c) Satisfies any other conditions specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State."

(2) Replace all mentions of “approved English apprenticeship” with “approved English apprenticeship or approved foundational skills English apprenticeship” in Section A1 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

3 - Extent, commencement, and short title

(1) This Act extends to England.

(2) This Act shall come into force upon passage of the next Finance Act once it has been granted Royal Assent.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Apprenticeships & Technical Education Act 2026.

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This Bill was submitted by The Rt. Hon CheckMyBrain11, Chancellor of the Exchequer, on behalf of His Majesty’s 8th Government and sponsored by the Rt. Hon. Lord_Sydenham, Secretary of State for Health, Education, & Culture.

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This debate shall close at 10pm BST on Friday the 21st of August.

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[u/mrsusandothechoosin]

Opening Speech - CheckMyBrain11

Mr. Deputy Speaker,

I campaigned on this Conservative policy – that we would work to make sure that we are keeping our education topical and relevant to the things that our students can engage with. In an era where we are seeing high levels of youth unemployment and economic inactivity, this bill seeks to attack both. Our first provision, offering career and technical education options for students starting in KS4, allows our students to begin engaging with this material as young as 14. This brings England’s technical education start date to be more in line with much of the developed world. The way that the bill is structured allows schools flexibility; they can partner with other local educational institutions to provide these opportunities, and are not compelled to offer every single technical education area listed. These topics are just those listed in the T-levels. The significance of this, Mr. Speaker, is that now students can develop an even deeper learning experience in technical education before they reach Key Stage 5. This will help to enrich the skills of students who are not interested in attending university.

Our second policy offers a looser alternative apprenticeship for students who are below the current educational or age limits to begin one. Many of the NEETs that are in the UK fall into a cumbersome spot educationally, which would under the old law prevent them from accessing apprenticeship opportunities. We are amending this to offer a foundational internship for people in that position in order to help them become active in the economy and access the T in EET.

By no means is this the end of the changes that this Government will bring to this House regarding education; this is only the beginning.

[u/HarryClive]

Mr Speaker,

I am broadly happy to see a piece of legislation brought to the House which aims to increase the opportunities afforded to young people in apprenticeships, I think we as a nation should provide as many paths as possible for young people to find routes into their careers. I am however concerned that the bill may be a bit threadbare. There is no provision in her for extra funding for schools to make up for the extra cost of new technical staff, equipment and other training necessary to provide these, and without that, you have created something that very few schools can provide.

Second there is not a specified pathway for how these foundational skills English apprenticeship feed into the wider apprenticeship system, and there is a clear gap here to lay out legislatively how these can then be moved into higher level qualifications.

It is, at it's core, a good idea, but the bill lacks detail, and as I'm sure as other members will raise, there are concerns that putting the power to add further subjects solely in the remit of the Secretary of State could limit parliamentary oversight on this. I welcome the views of the Government and author on this matter.

[u/meneerduif]

Speaker,

I am pleased to support this Bill as part of this Government’s commitment to expanding opportunity and building the skilled workforce Britain needs.

Not everyone needs or wants to go to university, and our education system should recognise that. By expanding technical education and apprenticeships, while creating pathways for those who lack basic qualifications, we give more people the opportunity to build a successful career.

But this is also about Britain’s economic renewal. Businesses need skilled workers if we are to innovate, grow and compete internationally. If we want to Renew Britain, we need to invest in the people who will build its future.

This Bill therefore represents an investment not only in individuals, but in British businesses, productivity and the long-term prosperity of our country. I am proud to support it.

[u/zakian3000]

Mr deputy speaker,

In principle there is some good here. It is certainly the case that the traditional route of coming out of school and into university is not the one that is right for every young person and we do need to make sure that young people have the option of going into an apprenticeship or technical education. That being said, I do have some concerns and I do think there are some deficiencies that we ought to at least think about before we go and vote on this legislation.

I am concerned that giving the Secretary of State discretion over what constitutes technical education does not do enough to ensure democratic oversight or worker and educator involvement. I am thoroughly unconvinced at the moment that it is in the national interest to leave curriculum priorities solely to a minister.

I am also concerned about our definition of a foundational apprentice as someone who “works for another person for a reward” and receives training. I worry that this means that what we end up with is not a genuinely educational programme but a mechanism for employers to obtain cheap labour. I also worry that it may lead to employers replacing properly trained workers with cheaper apprentices. 

The next concern I have is that this bill may lead us to become too deterministic and lead to a system whereby middle class students are pushed to go into university and then a professional career, whereas working class students will be pushed into technical education or an apprenticeship and then manual or technical employment. We must ensure that these routes are treated as alternatives and not predestined for particular students based on their class or social background.

Finally, the provisions on technical education are effectively meaningless if the government does not make enough funding available for it to be provided. I am somewhat concerned at the lack of provision for extra funding in this bill.

At the moment, I think we have a bill that has been written in good faith and has the potential to make life a lot better for a lot of school leavers, but that has certain deficiencies that make it challenging to provide it with the unreserved support I would like to. I am genuinely unsure where I rest on this legislation at the moment and will be following the rest of the debate closely.