More opportunities for young people as Government funds firms to expand Apprenticeships

Businesses across the country share £11 million to create nearly 3000 new places

13 May 2009

More apprenticeships will be open to young people thanks to £11 million in Government funding as part of a new approach to help employers train the skilled workers of the future, Skills Secretary John Denham and Schools Secretary Ed Balls announced today.

Businesses which already have a proven track record in offering high-quality apprenticeships will share the cash to train extra apprentices - over and above those they already employ.  This will result in around 3,000 new apprentices being trained at 16 firms over the next two years and allow smaller firms to benefit from the expertise of businesses which have been training apprentices successfully for some time.

Nearly 60 per cent of the funding will be targeted towards 16 to 18-year-olds with the majority of the remaining support going to support 19 to 24-year-old apprenticeships.

The announcement delivers on a pledge by Ministers in last year’s Apprenticeship Review to explore financial incentives so larger firms could take on apprentices, benefiting smaller companies in their supply chains which could take them on at a later date. At the same time, the move supports more young people and helps build a more highly skilled workforce.

The firms which have so far reached agreement with the Government will offer a wide range of apprenticeship frameworks, including motoring and sport and leisure, reflecting the diversity of apprenticeships now available.

The move will help deliver on the Government’s recent commitment to fund an extra 35,000 places across the public and private sectors backed by an additional £140 million of funding.

Skills Secretary John Denham said:

“This Government has rescued and expanded apprenticeships, over the past ten years we have trebled them with nearly a quarter of a million people starting apprenticeships this year compared to just 65,000 in 1997.

“In these tough times we are determined to do all we can to support business to prepare for the upturn and continue to invest in improving the skills of the nation’s workforce.

“Today’s announcement shows our commitment to strengthening the workforce and making more apprenticeship places available to young people and adults. The businesses we have signed agreements with will be able to train more apprentices, thanks to the £11 million of funding, and will have a skilled workforce improving the strength of the sector as a whole.” 

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said:

“We will not sit back during the current downturn or cut our investment when the priority is to build a talented, skilled and motivated workforce for the future.

“That’s why we are running a major campaign, fronted by Sir Alan Sugar, to increase the number of employers with apprentice places and are legislating to give a statutory entitlement to an apprenticeship to suitably qualified young people and adults.

“It is fantastic that these employers are working with us in planning for the long-term, investing in their wider supply chains and supporting their local economy.”

In April the National Apprenticeship Service was launched to deliver and fund apprenticeship places across England and its main aim will be to make it as easy as possible for employers to take on apprentices, and provide support and help to both the employer and learner.

-ends-

Note to Editors:

1.      Successful companies (all subject to final contract):

2.         The National Skills Academy (NSA) – Sports and Active Leisure – delivers the skills employers need in the leisure sector. Under today’s announcement of delivering additional apprenticeships to firms already working with apprentices, around seven of the largest leisure management and fitness operators will train 1,410 apprentices over the next two years at 700 sites across England and includes firms such as DC Leisure, Serco and Fitness First. The majority of these apprentices will take the level two and level three Fitness Instructors Apprenticeship framework. The scheme will work with SME’s (small and medium-sized enterprises) through the NSA network and employers which are new and with only limited experience of training apprentices. The scheme builds on good practice and aims to make apprenticeships common place from each employer on each site. 

3.         The Apprenticeships Review, World-class Apprenticeships: Unlocking Talent, Building Skills for All was published on 30 January 2008, and can be found at: http://www.dius.gov.uk/consultations/~/media/publications/W/world_class_apprenticeships.

4.         The Government will invest £140 million to deliver 35,000 new and additional apprentices nationally in both the public and private sectors.

The Government is already committed to increasing spending on apprentices in 2009 to just under £1billion. The £140 million is in addition to that and will expand the programme even further.

Over 130,000 employers are offering apprenticeship places in over 180 different types of apprenticeships across 80 industry sectors.

Apprenticeship starts have increased from 65,000 in 1996/97 to 225,000 in 2007/08. This is up 22 per cent on the year before.  Since 1996/97 over 2 million people have started an apprenticeship.

A survey carried out by Populus and published at the end of February to mark Apprenticeship Week found that:

• 81 per cent of businesses said apprentices helped to generate higher overall productivity
• One in five businesses questioned are hiring more apprentices to help them through tougher times with 22 per cent actively recruiting
• Two-thirds of employers believe their apprentices help them to be more competitive in their businesses (66 per cent)
•  More than 82 per cent saying they relied on their apprenticeship programme to give them the skilled workers they need for the future
• 92 per cent of employers said apprenticeships resulted in greater employee motivation and job satisfaction

5.         For further information, please contact the DIUS press office on 020 3300 8928 or 020 3300 8927.

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