Minimum wage for apprenticeships would divide sector

Business minister Pat McFadden has asked the Low Pay Commission to come up with a list of recommendations around offering a minimum wage to apprentices.

Apprentices under the age of 18 are currently exempt from the National Minimum Wage. Apprentices aged 19 or older are also exempt in the first year of their apprenticeship. The Learning and Skills Council has set £80 a week as a minimum wage for all apprentices in England but admitted to the Low Pay Commission in a report published in May that it did not have mechanisms for monitoring this and that current mechanisms were "not fit for purpose".

A spokesman for the Association of Learning Providers said: "Our members would oppose the minimum wage being applied as the feedback we've received from them is they simply would not be able to afford employing people at this rate, which would drive young apprentices into further poverty."

But the move has been welcomed by the National Apprenticeship Service. Chief executive Simon Waugh said: "The National Apprenticeship Service welcomes the involvement of the Low Pay Commission and looks forward to working closely with them. The current minimum apprenticeship wage is £80 a week but this rises to £95 in August. Our research shows however that the actual average wage for apprentices is around £170 a week."

From October, the current national minimum wage for all workers will rise from £5.73 to £5.80 an hour and the age at which people receive the adult rate will fall to 21.