£25m to support 10,000 Higher Apprenticeships

Details have been announced of a £25m fund that will support up to 10,000 Advanced and Higher Apprenticeships.

The apprenticeships will give firms in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, information technology and engineering the hi-tech skills they need to grow.

The Higher Apprenticeships Fund will support the expansion of apprenticeships up to degree equivalent in companies, particularly SMEs, where there is unmet demand for the higher level skills that are necessary to create additional jobs and growth.

Industry representatives are invited to bid to the fund, which will be delivered via the National Apprenticeship Service. The new apprenticeships will commence from October 2011.

The £25m for the Higher Apprenticeships Fund is part of a package of additional investment in apprenticeships totalling £180m. The Government is committed to funding some 360,000 apprenticeships this financial year alone.

The fund will build on support offered to business via the Growth and Innovation Fund and the Growth Review, which are designed to target Government support on firms and sectors which will benefit most from additional investment in skills training.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "As I work with the business community to rebalance and grow the economy, apprenticeships will increasingly deliver not just basic training, but also the high level, high tech skills that drive growth."

"The Higher Apprenticeships Fund is a crucial step towards placing vocational learning on a par with academic study, giving bright youngsters the opportunity to work with and build the most dynamic firms in the country."

Further information:
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills