Lammy calls for more apprentices

Skills minister David Lammy has called on public-sector employers to offer more apprenticeships to young people and adults, and to break down barriers preventing their take-up.

Last month, prime minister Gordon Brown told delegates at the TUC Congress: “We are ready to work with you now to expand apprenticeships in local government, the NHS and the civil service.”

And Lammy has now called a “high-level summit to help show the way” and determine how the public sector can offer more apprenticeships – part of a drive to double the number of places on apprenticeships in England to 500,000 by 2020.

A key government aim is to make apprenticeships more accessible to everyone who wants one. To this end, a web-based clearing service will be set up to help potential apprentices search nationally for opportunities by job category and area.

“Working in partnership with employers, learners and training providers, we will introduce an entitlement to an apprenticeship for every suitably qualified young person that wants one by 2013,” Lammy said.