fake imagesThe government says some 50,000 young people are expected to benefit from a program to expand apprenticeship training as it seeks to tackle youth unemployment.
The £725 million package, which was set aside in the Budget and covers 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, eliminating the 5% they currently have to pay.
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 £140m 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 short course program will also be offered from spring next year in areas including artificial intelligence, engineering and digital skills, which the government says will be delivered in collaboration with the defense sector.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to speak about the plan on Monday.
You have previously said that you want apprenticeships to be treated with the same respect as degree courses.
“For too long, success has been measured by the number of young people going to university,” the prime minister said.
“That narrow vision has held back opportunities and created barriers that we must break down.”
The government has expressed concern about the growing number of people classified as NEETs, that is, young people between 16 and 24 years old who are not working, studying or receiving training.
This has been on an upward trend since 2021, with the latest figures showing that almost a million young people are now neither earning nor learning.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said young people had “not been treated well enough” in areas such as housing and employment.
He also spoke about the government’s plans to get young people off Universal Credit and into jobs, which it is spending another £820m on.
Some 55,000 six-month placements will be rolled out from next April for those who have been receiving a benefit for 18 months or more.
The apprenticeships will be rolled out in six parts of the UK with high youth unemployment and will be “fully subsidized” for 25 hours a week, paid at the legal minimum wage. The money will also fund training and job support.
Employers taking part in the scheme have not yet been announced, but ministers have said new opportunities will be created in sectors such as construction, health and social care and hospitality.
In total, the government plans to create 350,000 training and internship places.
McFadden’s Conservative counterpart Helen Whately said the plan showed Labor had “no plan for growth, no plan to create real jobs”.
