Knowledge Centre
17th December 2009
The number of people completing an apprenticeship is at an all-time high, according to the Government, which is hailing its success in 'smashing' previous records.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said that 143,000 apprentices - out of 239,000 starters - completed their training in the 2008/09 academic year. This means that seven out of 10 people who started a course saw it through to completion, representing a 5% increase on the previous year.
And the greater proportion of people completing apprenticeships - up by more than 27% on 2008/09 - means that the Government has exceeded its own targets two years early, BIS says.
Apprenticeships Minister Kevin Brennan said that investing in skills is an essential part of rebuilding economic growth.
"We know that business values the apprenticeship highly because this training is providing the skilled workers British businesses need for the future, and Government remains committed to making it easier for businesses to offer them," he added.
The figures come after Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged to Parliament that from January 2010, everyone under the age of 25 will be guaranteed a job, training, or work experience after six months on unemployment benefit.
However, employment figures released this week show that between October and August there were 952,000 16 to 24-year-olds out of work - more than at any time since 1992, when separate records began for the age range.
Although the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) acknowledged that the figures show the smallest rise in the jobless total since the start of the recession, it said that the effect of people who are working reduced hours because they cannot find a full-time job was masking the real situation.
Chief economic advisor Dr John Philpott said "The emergence of 'part-time Britain' is good insofar as it helps keep the lid on headline unemployment, but is an underlying sign of the pain still being inflicted on the UK workforce by the recession.
"Most of this pain is being experienced by men and young people."
IMAGEDavid Jones/PA Wire
'Record' apprentice levels amid youth unemployment
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said that 143,000 apprentices - out of 239,000 starters - completed their training in the 2008/09 academic year. This means that seven out of 10 people who started a course saw it through to completion, representing a 5% increase on the previous year.
And the greater proportion of people completing apprenticeships - up by more than 27% on 2008/09 - means that the Government has exceeded its own targets two years early, BIS says.
Apprenticeships Minister Kevin Brennan said that investing in skills is an essential part of rebuilding economic growth.
"We know that business values the apprenticeship highly because this training is providing the skilled workers British businesses need for the future, and Government remains committed to making it easier for businesses to offer them," he added.
The figures come after Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged to Parliament that from January 2010, everyone under the age of 25 will be guaranteed a job, training, or work experience after six months on unemployment benefit.
However, employment figures released this week show that between October and August there were 952,000 16 to 24-year-olds out of work - more than at any time since 1992, when separate records began for the age range.
Although the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) acknowledged that the figures show the smallest rise in the jobless total since the start of the recession, it said that the effect of people who are working reduced hours because they cannot find a full-time job was masking the real situation.
Chief economic advisor Dr John Philpott said "The emergence of 'part-time Britain' is good insofar as it helps keep the lid on headline unemployment, but is an underlying sign of the pain still being inflicted on the UK workforce by the recession.
"Most of this pain is being experienced by men and young people."
IMAGEDavid Jones/PA Wire
Tags: Education & skills, Employment
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