The public sector will be forced to pay for 200,000 more apprenticeship places to deliver on the government’s election manifesto commitments.
Setting out the government’s plans to deliver 3 m apprentices by 2020, the prime minister will say in a speech on Monday that 2.3% of staff in large public sector bodies will have to be apprentices.
With about 75% of apprentices in the private sector, 16% in the public sector and 9% in voluntary sector, a government source said it was important that the public sector played its part.
David Cameron is expected to give a speech saying: “In our manifesto, we made specific commitments: we said we’d reach 3m more apprenticeships.
“I can tell you, in the three months after the election alone, we delivered 115,000 more – in industries from law to fashion design, aerospace and more.
“And today, we’re going even further, with our Apprenticeship 2020 vision. We will make every part of the public sector – from Whitehall to local government, the NHS to the police, ensure that apprentices form at least 2.3% of their workforce.
“And our 2020 plan will also help an age group that has, so far, missed out: young adults. Just 6% of 16 to 18-year-olds take an apprenticeship at the moment.
“But with the public sector and the private sector fully on board, we want to increase that, helping us to make sure every school leaver goes into an apprenticeship, work or university – and gets the skills they need.”
The changes will all be set out in a package of measures called “English Apprenticeships – Our 2020 vision”. The government hopes to increase that ratio of 16- to 18-year-olds starting an apprenticeship to one in 10 by 2020.
