Toby Perkins responds to decline in apprenticeship starts and adult education participation

Toby Perkins MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Apprenticeships and Further Education, commenting on the decline in apprenticeship starts and adult education participation, said:

“Chronic underfunding and consistent incompetence from the Conservatives has seen opportunities to learn, earn, and retrain disappear for hundreds of thousands of people who need them.

“Skills and retraining should be a vital part of our economic recovery, but under the Conservatives opportunities are disappearing, weakening our economy.

“Ministers must urgently get a grip and ensure that everyone who needs to upskill or retrain as we emerge from the pandemic can do so.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

• Apprenticeship starts were down by 6.9% to 253,100, compared to 271,800 reported for the same period (August-April) in 2019/20

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships

• Latest figures for 2020/21 academic year show that adult government-funded further education and skills participation decreased by 11.0% to 1,445,100 compared to 1,624,200 in the same period in 2019/20.

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-and-skills/2020-21