Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat). It was answered by Sion Simon (Labour) on Thursday, 16 October 2008 on behalf of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Apprenticeships

Question: What progress has been made towards meeting the Government's apprenticeship targets.

Answer: The 2007-08 apprenticeships performance indicator of 75,000 framework completions has been met and exceeded early. with 112,000 people successfully completing an apprenticeship framework in 2006-07. Apprenticeship completion rates reached an all-time high in 2006-07 of 63 per cent. compared with 24 per cent. in 2001-02—and an effective rate of zero under the Tories. Apprenticeship starts have increased from 65,000 in 1996-97 to 184,000 in 2006-07. Expanding apprenticeships will play a key role in improving the nation's skills base, and we plan to deliver more than 250,000 apprenticeship starts and 190,000 successful completions by 2020.

Secondary information