Sharp rise in people starting engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships

Every area of England has seen a significant rise in new apprentices in the past two years, according to the figures from Semta, the sector skills council for science, engineering and advanced manufacturing.

UCU said the figures were a welcome boost. However, despite the improvements, the union called for more employers to take apprenticeships seriously as it was revealed just one in five (18%) in the engineering and manufacturing sectors offer apprenticeships.

UCU added that changes to adult learning funding could see thousands of older people miss out on the chance to become an apprentice. 

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'Today's figures are to be welcomed and we hope more firms will see the benefits of offering apprenticeships.

'Worryingly, thousands of people could miss out on the chance to become an apprentice. Government plans to remove funding for adult learners over the age of 24 is going to make it much harder for them to access training.'