Matthew Hancock highlights importance of apprenticeship reforms

Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise Matthew Hancock stressed the importance of Government apprenticeship reforms and reiterated his belief that giving more control to employers over their design and funding will help drive up quality. The Minister went on to characterise apprenticeships as the norm for young people leaving school, alongside university, and described how the new reforms, under which for every £1 spent by an employer on an apprenticeship, the Government contributes £2 up to a maximum amount, will be trialled under the existing Trailblazer programme.