As National Apprenticeship Week 2023 gets underway, new figures show that since 2010, more than 13,000 people in Wallasey benefitted from an apprenticeship.
As well as driving up the number of people boosting their skills through apprenticeships, reforms are also improving the quality of apprenticeships.
£2.3 billion of additional funding has been announced for 2023-24 and 2023-25 – with colleges that deliver skills and training getting the most focused support.
Alongside reforms to apprenticeships, Conservatives have introduced T-Levels and established twelve Institutes of Technology. T-Levels provide students with vocational options as rigorous and robust as A-Levels.
Commenting, Councillor Ian Lewis said: "Apprenticeships are a million miles ahead of the old YTS that I signed up for when I left education.
"Before becoming a councillor, I was responsible for helping young people get an apprenticeship with local employers and helping them to build new skills and gain vital industry knowledge – all while being paid.
“It is brilliant news that 13,170 new apprenticeships have been created in Wallasey since 2010 and each new apprenticeship means another student building the skills and knowledge they need for a long and successful career”.
Commenting, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan added: "My apprenticeship was my golden ticket. It gave me a unique insight into how a business operated, from the shop floor to the boardroom.
"I learnt the skills that businesses truly value and it launched my career in international business.
“This National Apprenticeship week I hope more people learn about the incredible opportunities available in everything from engineering to healthcare.
"Whatever career goals you aspire to, they can be achieved through an apprenticeship which can take you all the way up to masters degree level”.
Apprenticeships are also now subject to the National Minimum Wage - previously, under Labour, there was no minimum. In April, the minimum hourly rate payable to apprentices goes up by 9.7%
