£60m plan | Major reforms announced to boost apprenticeships by 20,000 - do the plans go far enough?

The Prime Minister has set out a major package of reforms to support businesses to deliver as many as 20,000 new apprenticeships.

Rishi Sunak announced on Monday that the Government will fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses from April 1 2024 by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21 - reducing costs and burdens for businesses and delivering more opportunities for young people to kick start their careers.

This will remove the need for small employers to meet some of the cost of training and saves time and costs for providers like further education colleges who currently need to source funding separately from the government and businesses.

The move is underpinned by an additional £60 million of new government funding for next year, guaranteeing that where there is demand for apprenticeships from businesses, the government will ensure there is enough funding to deliver them.