Presenting his Budget today (23 March), George Osborne also said the government would be increasing the places on its new work experience scheme to 100,000 over the next two years to help tackle the problem of rising youth unemployment.
Osborne said: "In Austria, Germany and Switzerland around one in four employers offers apprenticeships. In England fewer than one in 10 do. That’s got to change. Today, I am funding another 40,000 apprenticeships for young unemployed people."
The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) welcomed the expansion of the government’s apprenticeship programme. It warned that the challenge will be to ensure that a significant proportion of the extra places go to young people leaving the school system. To meet this challenge the association urged for there to be adequate pre-apprenticeship provision put in place for school-leavers who are not eligible for full apprenticeships.
Paul Warner, ALP’s director of employment and skills, said: "The government has definitely been on the right track in ensuring that apprentices are in a proper job with a decent wage. We need though to find places with employers for this summer’s school-leavers who want apprenticeships or at least get them on the ladder to full apprenticeships in new access programmes around the country."
But the government has been criticised for not going far enough to help the most disadvantaged young people.
Barnardo’s chief executive Anne Marie Carrie called the announcement "a drop in the ocean". She said: "While the extra apprenticeships are real opportunities for those who can access them, they are still beyond the grasp of many of the vulnerable young people we work with, including young carers, disabled children and homeless young people."
Shaks Ghosh, chief executive of the Private Equity Foundation, added: "Youth unemployment is the critical social issue facing the UK and as chief executive of the Private Equity Foundation I am constantly banging on doors in the business community highlighting the acute situation facing our young people. We note the additional 40,000 apprenticeships and increase in work experience, however with 938,000 young people not in education, employment and training (Q4 2010), their plight remains urgent and more must be done."
