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Further and Higher Education (Employer Engagement)

: On apprenticeships specifically, I have evidence of employers that are committed to modern apprenticeships but seem to take on too many apprentices. One company had 20 apprentices out of a work force of 50. It was able to do so by losing some of the apprentices during their apprenticeships. That meant that people signed on at college were unable to pursue their college courses because they had lost their apprenticeships. That is not acceptable. I have no reason to believe that they were poor apprentices, although they may have had arguments with their employers. It is a negation of encouraging young people through the process if they feel that they are being sacrificed in favour of someone better. It is time that we looked into the matter and did something about it. Does the Minister accept that it is a problem?