Home > News > January 2008 > 29 January 2008

Government publishes Apprenticeships Review

A plan to expand and strengthen apprenticeships has been published by the Government.

The 'Apprenticeships Review' outlines the measures the Government plans to take to ensure apprenticeships become a mainstream option for young people, as well as plans to boost apprenticeships for older learners.

Last November the Government announced increases in funding to expand the Apprenticeship programme over the next three years for both young people and adults. Yesterday's review sets out how the Government aims to deliver that expansion, improve the quality of apprenticeships, and offer better support to employers providing high-quality apprenticeship places.

The plan sets out objectives to make apprenticeships a mainstream option for 16-18 year olds, alongside other education and training routes, and to ensure that an apprenticeship place is available for all qualified young people by 2013, with significant growth in apprenticeships for older learners as well.

The government anticipates that one in five of all young people will be undertaking an apprenticeship within the next decade.

Further measures announced by the government include:

* A new National Apprenticeship Service to lead the expansion and improvement of the apprenticeship programme

* Action to make it easier for employers to improve the range of apprenticeships by, for example, enabling them to include their own accredited qualifications

* A pilot wage subsidy programme for small businesses, designed to make it more attractive for them to offer high quality apprenticeship places

* A new drive to increase apprenticeships in the public sector, setting targets in key areas

* A task force to improve the take up of apprenticeships in London, where there is a current shortfall

* Examining how to use the public procurement process to encourage companies that benefit from significant Government-funded contracts to offer apprenticeships as a good way of meeting their responsibility to train and develop their staff.

John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said: "In this rapidly changing world, Britain will only succeed if we develop the skills of our people to the fullest possible extent. Apprenticeships have a key role to play.

"This plan details not only how the expansion in numbers will be delivered but also how the quality can be improved to ensure apprenticeships can be a mainstream option for more of our workforce and help secure a prosperous future for the whole country.

"Over the past decade we have more than doubled the number of young people and adults starting apprenticeships. Building on that, over the period to 2020, we project that apprenticeship starts will increase to at least 250,000 per year.

"The number of young people and adults successfully completing apprenticeships has risen from around 40,000 in 2001/02 to over 100,000 per year now. We project that the number successfully completing will rise further to around 190,000 per year in 2020.

"This means that over the 10-year period from 2001/02 to the end of the Comprehensive Spending Review period in 2010/11, we project that more than 900,000 young people and adults will have successfully completed an apprenticeship. We project that by 2020 this figure will be over two million.

"This represents a major boost to our national skills base, to our ability to compete internationally, and to the prospects of those young people and adults to sustain rewarding and productive employment.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for the Department for Children, Schools and Families, said: "We can and will have a much expanded Apprenticeship programme - the demand is there, and it's growing.

"I want to see apprenticeships as a popular option for 16 to 18-year-olds, one that will sit alongside the suite of qualifications, like the Diploma, which will make sure all young people have access to education and training post-16. In order to do this, we will increase the number of 16-18 apprenticeships by 90,000 by 2013 and ensure there is a place for every suitably qualified young person who wants one. This will play a major part in our objective to raise the participation age to 18.

"We have already announced measures like the new online 'matching service' and more work experience taster sessions. This review will provide the foundation for future development of the apprenticeships programme.

"The 'Apprenticeship Review' is published alongside a joint command paper, 'Ready to Work, Skilled for Work: Unlocking Britain's Talent' from DIUS and DWP. This sets out how Government intends to work with business and employers to raise the skills of the country."

Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "When I was a young footballer, I was desperate to be full-time. But my father insisted I did my apprenticeship. Apprenticeships were a comprehensive education which taught young people how to be part of a workforce. They instilled the values of excellence and quality in the workplace and served British industry well throughout the years. It is sad that their demise was so swift and any attempt to revive their place in a young person's training should be welcomed and will benefit the economy for years to come."

Sir Alan Sugar said: "I am a great believer in apprenticeships because young people learn best on the job with a mentor who knows what they're doing. If British industry is going to compete with the rest of the world, we're going to need a trained workforce who are the best at what they do - that is why I back more apprenticeships for people in Britain."

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Department for Innovation, University and Skills

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