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<p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total
workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3%
by March 2021. The Ministry of Justice has achieved 1.3% of the total staff employed
within the department.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice’s Apprenticeship Strategy, designed
to meet the allocated targets consists of 3 strands:</p><ol><li>Promoting the use
of Cabinet Office approved apprenticeships programmes to develop professional skills;</li><li>Designing
and delivering operational apprenticeship standards for specific operational roles;
and</li><li>Promoting the use of apprenticeships as an entry route / development of
career pathways for staff at all levels of the organisation.</li></ol><p>In March
2020 the MoJ reported a year on year increase in apprenticeships starts vs 2018-19
by 31%; and it was expected that this trend would continue into the new financial
year, with the recruitment of c2,700 prison officer apprentices nationally throughout
2020-21.</p><p>Unfortunately, Covid-19 has significantly impacted the delivery of
our apprenticeship strategy; particularly in the prison operational roles, with activity
being paused in the short term. Plans are in place to rapidly re-start operational
apprenticeships as soon as it is both safe and operationally viable to do so.</p><p>Given
this target is a percentage of the total workforce, the percentage changes in line
with workforce fluctuations over time, therefore making it challenging to predict
when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019"
target="_blank">here</a>. The data for 2019/20 will be released on <a href="http://gov.uk"
target="_blank">gov.uk</a> by the end of September 2020.</p><p>Departments are committed
to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work
towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment
due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to
an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to
support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling
on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.</p>
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