[T]he MP for Copeland has raised the flag for women aiming to secure apprenticeships and training opportunities in industry roles.
In Oral Questions to the Minister for Women and Equalities today, Trudy Harrison MP asked Minister Amber Rudd what steps the Government is taking to ensure that women can access high quality apprenticeships.
In response to Mrs Harrison’s written question, Ms Rudd, said: “It is good news that women now account for over half of all apprenticeships. We continue to implement apprenticeship reforms to improve the quality of apprenticeships for all – and we’re using the Employer Apprenticeships Diversity Champions Network to champion gender representation in industries where grater improvement and participation from women is still needed.
Mrs Harrison added: “I thank the Secretary of State for her response – the National of College for Nuclear opens in my neighbouring constituency on the 9th February. This will add to the already fantastic asset of training facilities with world-class equipment.
“What steps is the Government taking to ensure people with disabilities can access these training courses and apprenticeships?”
Ms Rudd, continued: “It is great news that the National College for Nuclear is opening shortly enabling young people and others in the area to be able to really access the sort of education they need, providing the skills going into the future. We want to ensure that apprenticeship opportunities are open to all people and of course that includes people with disabilities.
“We provide additional funding to both employers and training providers working with apprentices with disabilities, including to support their leaning and enable adjustments to the workplace.
“And as well as engaging employers through the Employer Apprenticeships Diversity Champions Network we are working to ensure that disability confident badging is clear for vacancies on the ‘find an apprenticeship’ website including engineering roles.”
Yesterday, Mrs Harrison took part in a Westminster Hall debate in support of the Disability Confident Scheme, an initiative which shows employers how to commit to recruiting, retaining and developing disabled people.
