35,000 new apprentices set to help beat economic downturn

The Government will fund an additional 35,000 apprentices next year to strengthen the country's competitiveness and help beat the downturn.

It will invest £140 million to deliver new and additional apprentices nationally in both the public and private sectors.

This funding is in addition to the just under £1billion already committed by the Government and will allow the existing apprenticeship programme to be expanded even further over the next twelve months with well over a quarter of a million apprentices beginning their training in the next financial year.

For many people, Apprenticeships provide an effective route into a skilled job and this additional funding will extend the opportunities so that even more people can benefit from on-the-job training in skilled professions.

Skills Secretary, John Denham said: ‘Now more than ever it is important that we give people the real help they need to get and keep jobs. This is an important initiative and is a further signal of our determination to give people the chance to get the practical training they need to get on and to help ensure the country has the skilled workers it needs to benefit from the upturn.’

Children, Schools and Families Secretary, Ed Balls, adds: ‘In the current economic climate, it is vital we continue to provide young people with a clear path into skilled work. For many young people an apprenticeship will provide an ideal pathway to successful employment. We must make sure we can meet demand so that more people can benefit and earn while they learn.

‘We have legislated to raise the education and training age to 18 so that in future every young person will continue to learn - whether by staying on at school, going to college or doing an apprenticeship or other work-based learning.’

The new apprentices will work in both the public and private sectors and will be delivered through a range of measures including the use of the power of the public sector, as some of the nation's largest employers, to make available new apprenticeships opportunities within a broad range of careers.