Partner Article

Boom in UK apprentice numbers

Government ambitions to increase the number of apprentices in the UK have succeeded, surpassing initial estimates.

The government aimed to recruit 50,000 apprentices in the 2010-2011 financial year but the final total is more than double that number at 103,000.

IT, manufacturing and engineering have especially benefited from this scheme by reducing bureaucracy, guidance and improving routes to higher education.

Stan Higgins, chief executive of NEPIC, which represents around 500 companies in the process industry views this news as positive but long overdue: “The more apprenticeships we can create the better. We have to make up for more than 20 years of missed opportunities for people to become apprentices.”

“However, we have along way to go to fill the gap this loss has caused, and we must encourage more people to train in technical apprenticeships for the hihgh-tech industries of the future.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “We are determined t boost growth, balance the economy, extend opportunity and break down barriers between academic and vocational learning.”

“With every £1 of government money delivering a return of some £40 to the wider economy, this is a sound investment in the country’s future.”

The investment planned for the coming year will give another 360,000 apprentices jobs, and the government plans to make it even easier for employers to take on an apprentice and reap the benefits.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .