Poor take up of apprenticeships

Latest government figures show a disastrous drop in
the number of young people starting apprenticeships during the recession

Figures released today by the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills raise serious concerns about the Government’s
reliance on the apprenticeship system to help young people during the
recession.

The official data shows that
the number of 16 to 18-year-olds starting apprenticeships has plummeted by 7.5
percent over the last 12 months, while the number of 19 to 24-year-olds
starting apprenticeships has also fallen sharply by 5.9 percent over the same
period.

Tom Richmond, Skills
Adviser, CIPD, comments: “These apprenticeship figures strongly suggest that
the Government’s policy of expanding apprenticeships to tackle youth
unemployment is faltering.  After the
bitterly disappointing rise in youth unemployment announced just yesterday,
this week has delivered a ‘double dose’ of bad news for the people hit worst by
the recession.

“While
we applaud the Government’s broad commitment to supporting young people in
these difficult times, it is clear that
apprenticeships alone are not capable of solving
the problems faced by school, college and university leavers.  The Government’s announcement earlier this
week that a subsidy of £2,500 will be offered to firms for taking on young
apprentices fails to address these concerns, especially as it will only be
given to 5,000 companies.”