Stroud Liberal Democrats

Huge increase in the number of apprentices

Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today (12 November) met with apprentices at a factory in Eastleigh to celebrate a 90 per cent increase in the number of people starting apprenticeships in the South East.

Records show that in the four years to 2009/2010 around 133,000 people began an apprenticeship programme in the South East, compared to 261,000 under the this government.

Elsewhere the number of people taking up apprenticeships soared by:

- 113 per cent in the North East and the North West of England.

- 90 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber.

- 104 per cent in the East Midlands.

- 117 per cent in the West Midlands.

- 107 per cent in the East of England.

- 86 per cent in the South West.

Since 2010 Liberal Democrats in government have helped to almost doubled the number of people starting apprenticeships, compared to the last Parliament.

We are now just days away from being able to announce the 2 millionth apprenticeship starting since 2010 in England.

Nick met with 45 apprentices at the Prysmian factory in Eastleigh, as the company celebrates 100 years of manufacturing energy and telecoms cables in the UK.

Nick said:

"Gone are the days when a vocational education was seen as the poor relation when it came to choosing a career path. We're seeing more and more young people choosing apprenticeships and hearing from more and more businesses who say they simply couldn't function without the talent and ambition they bring.

"I'm delighted to be able to meet with young people starting their careers working for companies like Prysmian - its good quality apprenticeships like these that give hard-working young people the chance to aim high for their dream job whilst playing their part in building a stronger economy for Britain."

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