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Cabinet backs public sector apprenticeships

27 February 2009

Ministers have thrown their weight behind apprenticeships setting out how more than 21,000 apprenticeship places in frontline public services will be delivered.

Marking National Apprenticeships Week, Skills Secretary John Denham and Children's Secretary Ed Balls announced that thousands of apprenticeship places are to be created across the country in 2009-10.

Ministers want the Government's commitment to drive up the number of public sector apprenticeships to lay down the marker to the wider economy of the need to create a new generation of skilled workers. Currently the public sector employs 20 per cent of the national workforce but offers less than one in ten apprenticeships.

They set out their plans to drive up numbers in the public sector with an increase of 21,000 from April. They include:

• 5,000 more in the National Health Service and social care in areas such as customer service, dental nursing, health and social care, pharmacies, learning and development posts
• 2,500 more places in further education colleges and universities including childcare, business administration, horticulture and vehicle maintenance
• 7,500 in local government including customer service, warehousing, hospitality and catering, and business and administration posts
• 4,500 in schools and children's services — including apprenticeships to offer high quality training in childcare, youth work and social care. In schools, places include teaching assistants, catering, premises management and ICT support
• 1,000 more places in Ministry of Defence civilian apprenticeships in apprenticeships such as business and administration and catering, as well as more traditional engineering frameworks
• more than 600 apprentices in other government departments including the Home Office, DWP, DfT, the Cabinet Office, DFID, BERR, HMT, HMRC, DCMS and the Attorney General's Office

Mr Denham said:

“We want to continue that growth and get young people and adults to recognise the huge breadth of jobs and career options an apprenticeship can open up in healthcare, education and business to name just a few.

“The public sector places we are talking about today are great news for those looking for an apprenticeship but also represent the Government's commitment to leading by example, encouraging businesses to take on apprentices and help ensure we have the highly skilled workforce the UK needs to stay competitive through the downturn and when the upturn comes.”

Mr Balls said:

“National Apprenticeships Week is about demonstrating the benefits of on-the-job training directly to employers' so they can put the right skills, in the right place to survive the downturn. ”