Employers’ associations have welcomed the government’s announcement of plans to fund 35,000 new apprenticeships to help ease unemployment and improve competitiveness in the credit crunch.
Gordon Brown announced government plans to invest £140 million in new apprenticeships while visiting Rolls-Royce’s Derby HQ yesterday.
The government claims it has already committed to spending just under £1 billion on apprentices in the next year and expects over a quarter of a million apprentices to begin their training in the next financial year.
The additional apprentices will work in both the public and private sectors. The government aims to ensure that public sector procurement contracts contain training and apprenticeship requirements.
A spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses said: “The FSB welcomes the government’s commitment to apprenticeships. Small businesses place great value on an apprenticeship and are prepared to invest in them.
“But they are often impeded by lengthy administration and the costs of providing training. On top of this commitment, there needs to be more awareness of wage contributions.”
Alan Ritchie, general secretary of construction union Ucatt, said: “This is excellent news. In order to ensure Britain has the necessary skills for the future, it is essential to properly train young workers now so that we avoid skills shortages that will prolong the recession.”
Meanwhile John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general, said: “This is a useful initiative designed to help those people who are particularly vulnerable to unemployment develop their skills. However, the only way to protect real jobs is to get the credit markets working again.”