Southend West MP Sir David Amess asked the Amber Rudd how the Government is trying to encourage more apprenticeships for women in Southend during questions to the Minister for Women and Equalities on Thursday 11 January.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Sir David said: “I am delighted that 580 people started apprenticeships in Southend last year. Will my right hon. Friend please advise me on what more she can do to incentivise local employers to offer even more apprenticeships to women in Southend?”

In response, the Minister for Women and Equalities (Amber Rudd) said:

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on having a high level of apprenticeship starts in his constituency, but he also makes the point that we need to ensure that women are starting apprenticeships in a variety of areas, and particularly in science, technology, engineering and maths—STEM—subjects, where they are underrepresented at the moment, with only about 8% of participants being women. We are focusing additional efforts on working with employers through the apprenticeship diversity network to ensure that they show young people the opportunities available in other areas, particularly in the STEM area.”