Government Skills
Last updated: 18 December, 2008
18 November 2008
At least 10,000 apprenticeships will be created in spite of the contraction in the economy, as the bill which launched the National Apprenticeship Service was announced last week by John Denham and Ed Balls. New Government commitments on procurement are expected to see upwards of 7,000 new apprenticeships in construction, while high street giants released plans for large-scale increases in the numbers of apprenticeships they offer.
Sainsbury's, Tesco, Superdrug and Phones 4u have committed to expand massively their numbers of apprentices, to ensure they have the right skills to stay ahead of the competition. Sainsbury's has recently quadrupled the number of apprentices across its stores to 465, Tesco will have a further 800, Superdrug plan a further 1,000 while Phones 4u intends to train at least 1,000 apprentices by next April.
Skills Secretary John Denham said:
“This shows that we are well on the way to making apprenticeships a mainstream option for young people who want to get on. We anticipate that one in five of all young people will be undertaking an apprenticeship by the end of the next decade.
“It's great that private sector employers are making such a commitment to and an investment in their workforce. We need to do the same in the public sector and must ensure that every pound invested by taxpayers not only helps deliver new infrastructure projects but will also help provide the skilled workers needed in the future and enable more people to build a strong career. Apprenticeships are an excellent way to do this.”
More about the National Apprenticeship Service [External website]