Apprenticeships benefit employer and employee, skills minister states

The skills gap in the current UK workforce could be bridged by the government’s apprenticeship initiative.

That is according to skills minister, Lord Young, who has suggested that apprenticeships are important to address the lack of skilled labour in the country and to provide people with "career opportunities".

Lord Young said that the scheme will have the dual purpose of giving people the skills they need to enter the job market, as well as providing employers with qualified staff.

Explaining the benefits of apprenticeships, Lord Young said: "Employees benefit from getting a real qualification and a transferable skill as well as earning while they learn. Employers get a skilled employee that understands the world of work."

Get our essential weekday HR news and updates. X/Twitter This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Work Email Keep up with the latest in HR... This field is hidden when viewing the form Optin_form This field is hidden when viewing the form Optin_date Year Month Day This field is hidden when viewing the form Batch_Newsletter

He went on to explain that once the economy has recovered from the downturn, there will be a "huge demand for skilled workers".

The Learning and Skills Council conducted research which revealed that some 69 per cent of people believed apprenticeships benefitted their company.