Draft legislation to create apprenticeships for all

The government has unveiled measures that will entitle all young people to a place on an apprenticeship scheme.

The draft Apprenticeships Bill, out for comment until 8 October, is expected to give school leavers the right to an apprenticeship from 2013.

Ministers said this will mean that one-in-five young people will opt for this method of training within the next 10 years.

The bill is also intended to improve the quality of training to make apprenticeships a mainstream learning option.

For the first time, there will be a statutory basis for the entire apprenticeships programme, and the blueprint for what schemes should contain will be redefined.

The new National Apprenticeships Service (NAS) is being established to provide a one-stop shop for employers, who currently face a perplexingly broad range of services and agencies.

The proposal also aims to increase the number of apprenticeships in the public sector and give school leavers more information about possible career options.

Skills minister David Lammy said: “This bill now ensures that apprenticeships are a badge of quality, without question.

“Apprenticeships have been going from strength to strength and, over the past decade, we have more than doubled the number of young people and adults starting apprenticeships. But we need to go further to ensure both the number and quality of apprenticeships on offer.”

Ten years ago, only 75 000 people started apprenticeship training. Last year’s figures reached 184 000.

However, David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the government needed to ensure that all firms are engaged and supported when providing apprenticeships.

“Whilst large companies have more resource to facilitate these schemes, smaller companies are often less able,” he added.

The government has pledged the introduction of a pilot wage subsidy programme for small businesses to make it more attractive for them to offer high quality apprenticeships.

Conservative shadow skills secretary David Willetts has announced that, under a Tory government, small and medium firms would receive a payment of £2000 to for every apprentice who completes a scheme.