Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Universities, Science and Skills, responding to a Sutton Trust report on apprenticeships, said:

“The out-of-touch Tory-led Government has not done enough to set minimum standards or support employers to create genuine new high high-quality apprenticeships, putting the trusted apprenticeship brand at risk.

“Under David Cameron we have seen in-work training rebadged as apprenticeships and a spike in the numbers of apprenticeships of short duration and – in too many cases – poor quality.  When almost a million young people are out of work this simply isn’t good enough.

“A One Nation Labour Government will put this right.  Building on the work of our independent Skills Taskforce we will create a new universal standard apprenticeships so that they are qualifications that employers and young people can trust.  And we’ve also called on the Government to use the money which it already spends on public procurement to create thousands of new apprenticeship opportunities.“