THE GOVERNMENT has announced an expansion of youth apprenticeships, with 50,000 places planned over the next three years to address unemployment among young people.
Keir Starmer said he was "on a mission" to increase training opportunities during a visit to apprentices at McLaren in Woking, a day after Lando Norris won the Formula 1 world champion title.
Figures show the number of young people starting apprenticeships has fallen by almost 40 per cent in the past decade, with nearly a million 16 to 24-year-olds not in work or learning, BBC reported.
The plan includes removing the 5 per cent levy on apprenticeships for under-25s and adding new apprenticeships in AI, hospitality and engineering.
Starmer spoke about his father being an apprentice who "went to night school" to learn tool-making engineering, saying this was "every bit as difficult and complicated" as going to university. He said: "University is a good thing to do... but being an apprentice is an equally good thing to do."
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set aside £725m in the budget for the expansion, with short courses available from spring next year. A pilot programme linking mayors with employers will receive £140m, BBC reported.
Concerns were raised by Rose Atkinson, whose autistic daughter is 27 and no longer eligible due to the age cap. Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith said the priority was reforming apprenticeships.
Travis Perkins welcomed the move. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden outlined plans for 350,000 placements, while Conservative MP Helen Whately said Labour had "no plan for growth, no plan to create real jobs".
Andy Burnham attends the opening speeches on the first day of the Labour Party Conference at Liverpool Experience Campus on September 27, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
