The government has announced plans to increase apprenticeship places from 250 000 to more than 400 000 by 2010/11, provided high quality employer places are available.
As part as an overall skills investment programme, £1 billion has been pledged to increase the number of apprenticeships over the next three years.
It is said achieving these figures would deliver the challenges set by Lord Leitch in his review of skills almost 10 years early.
Funding will be targeted specifically at adults over 25. This will result in 30 000 additional adult apprenticeships costing £90 million over the next three years.
Places for those aged over 19 are set to total 125 000 by 2010/11, alongside 281 000 for those aged 16-18.
Keith Marshall, chief executive of SummitSkills, said: “The big change that we’re really pleased to see in this sector is that adult apprentice funding is now available. SummitSkills has argued for a number of years that there should be funding available for career changers over the age of 25. At this stage, it’s still a sign rather than an actual solution, but they’re beginning to accept our argument that confining apprenticeships to young people is not the way forward. Adult apprenticeships are where the area for growth lies.”
Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor
