Recommendation 17

HM Government Not Addressed

The Committee is right to highlight that occupational segregation by gender remains an issue in the wider labour market and, as an employer-led programme, apprenticeships reflect this. The Government is committed to improving parity for men and women in apprenticeships as part of our wider work to ensure everyone is able to take advantage of the opportunities available. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is responsible for overseeing the design development of apprenticeship standards and equality is already considered in the design of apprenticeships standards. Apprenticeships can support employers in creating more diverse workforces and we want to make sure that we address the under-representation of women in the highest-paying sectors, such as STEM. Although female representation in STEM apprenticeships is increasing, women remain under-represented. In 2019/20 women accounted for 11.4% of STEM apprenticeship starts, up from 10.1% in 2018/19 and 8.8% in 2017/18. If we are to increase the number of women working in the STEM sector then we must ensure that anyone, regardless of who they are or their background, has the opportunity to pursue the education pathways that lead to STEM occupations. DfE operates several programmes and funding streams that encourage school- aged girls to select STEM-based subjects at GCSE and beyond. These include funding programmes to increase the take-up of maths (such as the Advanced Maths Premium), computing and physics to support better teaching of these subjects in schools. This includes an £84m programme to support the teaching of GCSE computer science and provide online support for A level computer science students and teachers, to increase participation. As a partner signatory to the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code, DfE, alongside many other government departments has pledged to work with the engineering community to improve the quality, targeting, inclusivity and reach of engineering inspiration activities. DfE has also published the results of their Behavioural Insights trials of 11,000 pupils to gain a better understanding of low participation of girls in STEM subjects. Government continues to prioritise engagement work with employers, and in schools to encourage more young women into STEM careers. DfE is focussing on engaging with STEM employers to better understand what barriers they face in reaching out to women, as well as seeking examples of where women are effectively being brought onto STEM apprenticeships and retained successfully. The Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) project is giving teachers the knowledge and support to promote apprenticeships to students in schools. This also includes visiting girls’ schools and promoting STEM-related apprenticeships to young women and girls. DfE’s Apprenticeships Diversity Champions Network is championing gender representation in apprenticeships amongst employers in industries where improvement is needed. Siemens Plc, for example, aimed to achieve 20% female representation in its STEM role intake by 2020 and is on course to exceed that with 26%. Transport for London has achieved 50% female representation in its signalling engineer roles. The Network has a new chair, Lia Nici MP, who is keen to ensure that more apprentice stories are told. The Network will be running a project focussing on how employers can encourage and retain women into STEM roles. Results will be published through case studies, and an annual report published during National Apprenticeship Week in February 2022. DfE will continue to publish data on gender representation by sector. The Government has also been engaging with key sectors including construction, manufacturing, digital, health and social care, and the public sector, to address barriers to the growth of apprenticeships. As part of this, a number of opportunities to work with these sectors to address female under-representation have been identified. No one should be held back by their gender or where they come from, and we want apprenticeships to draw from the full range of talent from across the country. It is vital that all eligible adults have equal opportunities to benefit from the Skills Bootcamps. These Bootcamps will address the needs of adults 19+, whatever their gender, providing them with opportunities to retrain, update or formalise their skills or acquire specialist skills. DfE report seeing a demand for digital and technical Skills Bootcamps across many sectors and industries, including healthcare, where take up is higher amongst women than men. The Government has also introduced bootcamps that specifically support women to access training in a range of digital and technical qualifications, including subjects that are male- dominated. For example, the Software Engineering Academy for women in the West Midlands is preparing women for careers in software engineering. In addition to bootcamps targeting specific cohorts relating to age, ethnicity or gender, DfE