Skills Bootcamps are courses lasting up to 16 weeks for people looking to change sectors or progress in their current industry. By April 2022, 24,500 people had started a Bootcamp.18 DfE told us that Skills Bootcamps were particularly important for those in low-paid work who are looking for opportunities to progress, and that DWP had been referring low-paid workers and their employers to the programme. It asserted that Skills 12 C&AG’s Report para 4.33 13 Qq 65–66, 69 14 Q 65; C&AG’s Report para 2.22 15 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.23–2.24 16 Qq 65, 69 17 C&AG’s Report, paras 4.6–4.7, Figure 15 18 C&AG’s Report, para 4.15 Developing workforce skills for a strong economy 11 Bootcamps were proving to be a popular model, which was why it had decided to scale up the programme.19 DfE also claimed that, while interventions such as Skills Bootcamps involve learners attending training for only a short time, they could still be effective in helping people to become more valuable and sought-after.20