Topical question asked in the House of Commons, by Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Thursday, 4 March 2010 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Topical Questions

Question: I know that the Government are also committed to more apprenticeships. There are still tens of thousands of young people who are not in education, employment or training. Will Ministers look at the idea of posting the apprenticeships that are available, either by local authority area or by postcode, both to make them easier to access and to hold employers in the public and private sectors to account?

Answer: We have an online service to match employers with young people seeking apprenticeships, and as I said a few minutes ago, in December we announced a programme of grants of £2,500 for employers to take on unemployed 16 and 17-year-olds. I agree with the hon. Gentleman: we do not want young people to become completely distant from the labour market because of the economic troubles that we have been going through in the past couple of years. That is why apprenticeships are important, why the numbers have increased and why we have put in place the new grant specifically for unemployed 16 and 17-year-olds.

Secondary information