£140 million announced to fund 35,000 new apprenticeships

The number of young people completing apprenticeships in Doncaster has already risen from 339 to 830 in 3 years since 2003. The Government's announcement today means there will be an extra 35,000 apprenticeships, on top of 250,000 already planned.

These additional apprentices will work in both the public and private sectors and will bring the number of people starting apprenticeships next year to well over 250,000. The Government is already committed to increasing spending on apprentices in the next year to just under £1 billion. The includes £350m which will be given to small and medium size businesses to get the short sharp training they need improve productivity quickly

Apprenticeships can provide a high quality route into a skilled job. Completion rates have trebled to over 63% and the additional funding will extend the opportunities so that even more people can benefit from on-the-work training in skilled professions.

The Government’s ambition is, for the next decade, 1 in 5 young people to be taking up an apprenticeship. To help achieve this goal the National Apprenticeship Service and 10 new Apprenticeship Training Associations have been created to drive up the number and quality of apprenticeships.