Catherine Atkinson

Catherine Atkinson

Labour — Derby North

Speaking in the House of Commons on 23 April 2026

Debate

Business of the House

Contribution

The 14 to 18-year-olds who study at university technical colleges are three or four times more likely than the national average to secure an apprenticeship. The UTC in Derby is oversubscribed—it got 450 applications for just 100 places —and demand outstrips the number of places in other UTCs too. Many of our industries are concerned about skills shortages, so might we have a debate on how to expand UTC provision, or enable UTCs to team up with other schools, so that more young people can benefit from the skills that UTCs teach and from those strong routes into apprenticeships?

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