Government promises 50,000 new apprenticeships in employment push

The government says around 50,000 young people are expected to benefit from a program to expand apprenticeships to tackle youth unemployment.

The £725 million package, allocated in the budget and covering the next three years, will be used to create apprenticeships in sectors such as artificial intelligence, hospitality and engineering.

Apprenticeships for people under 25 in small and medium-sized businesses will be fully funded as part of the package, and the 5 per cent fee they currently have to pay will be eliminated.

The government aims to reverse the decline in the number of young people starting apprenticeships, which has fallen by almost 40% in the last decade.

The funding also includes £140 million for a pilot project which the Department for Work and Pensions says will allow local mayors to connect young people with employers and apprenticeship opportunities, although it is unclear exactly how the money will be used.

A program of short courses in areas such as artificial intelligence, engineering and digital skills, which the government says will be done in collaboration with the defense sector, will also be offered from spring next year.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to speak about the plan on Monday.

He has previously said he wants apprenticeships to be treated with the same respect as undergraduate studies.

“For too long, success has been measured by how many young people go to university,” the Prime Minister said.

“This narrow view has blocked opportunity and created barriers that we must break.”

The government has expressed concern about the increasing number of people classified as Neets, which refers to people aged 16 to 24 who are not in employment, education or training.

This has been on an upward trend since 2021. latest figures It shows that approximately one million young people no longer earn money or learn.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden said young people were “not getting a good enough deal” in areas such as housing and employment.

He also spoke about: government plans to get young people off Universal Credit and a further £820 million on works.

Around 55,000 six-month placements will be offered to those who have been on benefits for 18 months or more from next April.

The placements will be available in six areas of the UK with high youth unemployment and will be “fully subsidized” for 25 hours a week at the statutory minimum wage. The money will also fund education and job support.

Employers participating in the program have not yet been announced, but ministers said new opportunities would be created in sectors such as construction, health, social care and accommodation.

In total, the government plans to create 350,000 training and work experience placements.

McFadden’s Conservative counterpart Helen Whately said the plan showed Labor had “no plan for growth, no plan for real job creation”.