MPs today called on Jeremy Hunt to hike pay for apprentices as the number of youngsters joining schemes continues to plummet.
There were almost 160,000 fewer apprenticeship starts in 2022/23 compared to six years ago, The Sun can reveal.
And since the government’s controversial apprenticeship levy was introduced in 2016 numbers have dropped every year.
The levy is distributed to employers who pay a wage bill of more than £3 million per year to train school leavers and give them work.
But since its introduction, employers in England have lost more than £3.3 billion in unspent funds, with some money even handed back to the Treasury.
New apprenticeships fell by three per cent in 2022/23 compared to the previous year, and by 17 per cent compared to 2016/17.
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Meanwhile, businesses in sectors ranging from manufacturing to hospitality have complained of crippling staff shortages as they struggle to fill vacancies.
MPs have implored the Chancellor to hike apprentice pay, arguing the current £5.28 an hour minimum rate is putting off potential workers.
The Lib Dems have said next month’s Spring Budget should include a hike to the regular minimum wage of £10.42.
Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat Treasury and Business Spokesperson, said: “Young people across the country are being let down by a Conservative government that is failing to offer them the skills they need to thrive.
“The Chancellor should use the upcoming Budget to ensure apprentices are paid a fair wage.
“The number of young people starting apprenticeships has fallen every year since the Conservative Party introduced their broken apprenticeship levy. It just shows that the system is failing and needs to be replaced.”
Meanwhile, Labour has vowed to unlock thousands of new apprenticeships for aspiring brickies.
Analysis by the party shows that between 2016 and 2021, youngsters joining the construction industry fell by almost a third to 21,290.
It comes as a government survey, published in September last year, found vacancies in the sector have ballooned to 36,100.
Labour pledged to fix the skills shortage by reforming the Apprenticeship Levy.
The party promised to transform the fund into a “Growth and Skills Levy” that gives companies the freedom to use up to 50 per cent of their total contribution on an expanded range of training courses.
Shadow Skills Minister Seema Malhotra MP said: “Would-be brickies are being buried by Tory bureaucracy.
“Builders want the flexibility to train up new recruits as they see fit, not to be straitjacketed in how they spend cash on training their workforces.
“That’s why Labour will give builders more freedom to spend levy money on courses that give new trainees the opportunity to build their careers as well as build the homes that the country badly needs.”
A government source said: “This Conservative Government has built an apprenticeship system from the ground up delivering over 5.7 million apprenticeships since 2010.
“Our plan is working, so more young people get the skills they need to secure high skilled jobs for a brighter future and a stronger economy.”
