The government has been called on to subsidise apprentices’ wages in a bid to encourage more small employers to offer apprenticeships.

Training provider JTL says the government should offer wage subsidies to “ease the burden” of recruiting apprentices on employers.

JTL director of corporate services Caroline Turner said: “Though the cost of training an apprentice is free, with full funding by the Learning and Skills Council, employers are still responsible for their apprentices’ salaries and other associated costs.

“Easing the burden of these costs with the release of a wage subsidy programme will go some way to encouraging more employers to recruit apprentices, in particular in an area such as London where the demand for skilled labour is only likely to increase with the on-going development of projects such as the Olympics and the White City retail park.”

Turner was welcoming an announcement this week that Londoners will have more access to training through an initiative to increase the number of apprenticeship places offered by employers in the capital.

Skills minister David Lammy launched on Monday the London Apprenticeship Taskforce, comprising employers, councils, college principals and training providers, which aims to persuade more London employers to offer apprenticeships. Headed by Lammy himself, it will focus on public sector employers and SMEs; it will also work with employers to encourage them to open up their apprenticeship schemes to a more diverse workforce.

According to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, Londoners are missing out on the opportunities offered by apprenticeships compared to the rest of England. Despite the number of young people and adults taking up apprenticeships more than doubling over the last decade, there are currently fewer apprenticeships per head for Londoners than in almost any other part of England.

There are particular problems of under-representation of ethnic minorities.

Only 11,090 apprentices started schemes in London in 2006/07, compared to 32,210 in the similarly-sized North West.

Lammy said: “There aren’t enough apprenticeships available in London – and London’s people, young and old, deserve better. That’s why I’m launching the London Apprenticeships Task Force to boost their growth.

“Apprenticeships are valued across Britain as a means of unlocking people’s talents and providing employers with a well-trained workforce which helps their business succeed. But more than that, apprenticeships are about young people learning from older people, about handing knowledge on to future generations, and about giving young people the self-respect that might prevent them wasting their talents or getting involved in crime.

“We need to meet the demand for skills in London that really should be met by Londoners. Sectors like construction and retail, as well as our public services, are crying out for high quality staff so there is no excuse for not exploiting the apprenticeships route for meeting skills needs.”

Meanwhile, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, in a follow-up report to Apprenticeship: A key route to skill, published a year ago, has welcomed the government’s renewed commitment to improving apprenticeships and has called for the new National Apprenticeship Service to be directly accountable to a single government department and minister.

The committee is disappointed that responsibility for the NAS has been divided between DIUS and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Chairman Lord Vallance said: “We are pleased that the government is now taking steps to improve apprenticeship provision in the UK. For too long apprenticeships have been undervalued and inadequately supported by government and we hope this will now change.

“However we are disappointed that the new National Apprenticeship Service will not be directly accountable to a single minister. We feel this is vital to ensure that the political will and pressure to make the scheme a success is maintained.”

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