The Conservative party has pledged to create 100,000 apprenticeships per year by 2029 if it wins the general election in July.
The ‘high-skilled’ apprenticeships will replace ‘rip-off’ degrees, the Conservatives said they would crack down on, with one in eight degrees being shut down to help pay the £885 million the scheme would cost.
The pledge would grant Office for Students the power to close courses it thinks offers little value to students and tax payers by identifying courses with the highest dropout rates and least earning potential.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Improving education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet for boosting life chances. So, it’s not fair that some university courses are ripping young people off.
“Thanks to our plan, apprenticeships are much higher quality than they were under Labour. And now we will create 100,000 more, by putting an end to rip-off degrees and offering our young people the employment opportunities and financial security they need to thrive.”
The pledge comes just months after the government has announced that it will fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses from 1 April by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21, a move underpinned by a £60 million investment to enable up to 20,000 more apprenticeships for the next year.
