The Deputy Prime Minister is today celebrating a 111 per cent increase in the number of people starting apprenticeships in the East Midlands under this Government.
Official statistics show that in the four years to 2009/10 around 85,930 people began an apprenticeship programme in the East Midlands compared to 181,590 over the past four years. This Government has nearly doubled the number of people starting apprenticeships, compared to the last parliament and we are now just days away from being able to announce the two millionth apprenticeship starting since 2010 in England.
At the Skills Show in Birmingham today ( 13 Nov) the Deputy Prime Minister is also announcing that for the first time ever, the Government will be revolutionising how 16-18 year olds can find out about and access vocational skills and training. A new and fully-comprehensive national database of post-16 skills and employer led-courses and opportunities will be in place at the beginning of the next school year in September 2015.
As part of the Government’s review into 16-24 provision, it became clear that it’s not always easy for young people to find full and detailed information about their post-16 options in one place, at the right time, to help them get advice and make decisions about their future. The aim is therefore to create a similar system to UCAS that can help all young students access information on the college courses, apprenticeships, traineeships and other work-based training programmes available in their area.
At the Skills Show in Birmingham, the Deputy Prime Minister will meet with both young people and businesses to promote the growing range of vocational opportunities available to young people when they leave education and are trying to get their foot on the career ladder.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
“Gone are the days when a vocational education is seen as the poor relation when it comes to choosing a career path. I’m delighted to be able to celebrate such a phenomenal rise in young people being given the opportunity to work as they learn in the East Midlands.
“In fact we are just days away from being able to celebrate the two millionth apprentice starting work in England since 2010. Good quality apprenticeships give hard-working young people the chance to aim high for their dream job whilst playing their part in building a stronger economy for Britain.
“Whilst it is truly exciting to be able to celebrate the tide turning with wider-ranging opportunities for our school leavers aside from university, more is needed to show young people all the doors open to them. By creating a one-stop shop for the growing choices 16 year olds have, more young people will be able to access the options available to them and make better informed choices about their career paths.”
