We’re creating 120,000 new training opportunities – it’s time for young people to seize them, writes Bridget Phillipson

27 May 2025, 07:46 | Updated: 27 May 2025, 14:40

By Bridget Phillipson

This February, during National Apprenticeships Week, I met Reece, Morgan and Adrian, a group of young brickwork apprentices at the academy of a leading UK construction company.

Bright and enthusiastic, they were near the start of their training and on the road to a brilliant career in the building trade, working on some of the construction projects that are powering economic growth.

But those apprentices were the lucky ones. Thousands of others were locked out of the economy under the Conservative government due to the snobbery of an education system which until now failed to prioritise skills and training for young people.

Apprenticeship starts for school leavers have plummeted over the past ten years while the number of young people not in employment, education or training have risen to record levels.

That’s a tragedy not only for the hundreds of thousands of young people disengaged from society but also for our country – and our economy – too.

There are people behind these sobering statistics. The hardworking school-leaver who can't find a route into the construction industry. The creative problem-solver who would thrive in engineering but lacks guidance on how to enter the field. The compassionate young adult who could provide exceptional care but hasn't been given the opportunity to develop those skills.

The simple truth is that there are too many parts of the country where opportunities simply don’t exist. At the same time, where they do, employers are struggling to find the talent to plug gaps in their workforce – often looking abroad to fill the hole.

There are many paths to opportunity in this country – but some of the paths for so many young people have been blocked because in recent years skilled work has not been taken seriously.

With this government that will change. We were elected to bring transformative change and get Britain working again, with a Youth Guarantee to give young people, who were consigned by the last government to the scrapheap, access to education or training to help get them a job.

We have already slashed red tape to give employers more power to decide on the English and maths qualifications need to complete their training, opening up access to adults without GCSEs. Last week we launched our Trailblazer programme starting in Liverpool which matches young people with jobs and training in their area.

But now we are taking further action to put skilled careers back where they belong: as the route to prosperity for a new generation.

Today we herald a new era in this country, where skilled labour is once again prized, not rubbished, where training opportunities in trades are held up as a new route to a better life for millions of working people.

Under our Plan for Change, the apprenticeship budget will exceed £3 billion for the first time, driving 120,000 new opportunities and rebalancing the system so that young people get more opportunities than ever before. 

These opportunities represent more than just training places - they represent the workforce that will construct the 1.5 million homes Britain needs, care for patients in our NHS, and build the modern infrastructure required for sustainable economic growth.

Our expansion of Foundation Apprenticeships will get younger and less experienced workers, in particular, into these jobs and on to the pathway to better lives.

We need more young people from this country on our building sites – so we’ll add 13 new construction courses to the Free Courses for Jobs offer as well as £136 million for new Skills Bootcamps in areas up and down the country. That will deliver 40,000 extra places for learners.

We’re increasing the Immigration Skills Charge to support skills funding in priority sectors and upskill young, domestic talent. In so doing we’ll reduce our reliance on migration and deliver up to 45,000 training places across this Parliament.

I believe firmly that we each have responsibilities – governments, colleges, communities, families and individuals. Everyone has a role to play in a thriving economy - including our young people.

The government’s responsibility is to put skilled careers back where they belong: as the route to prosperity for a new generation who will rebuild Britain.

To those young people currently on the sidelines – opportunity is finally yours for the taking. Your responsibility, like those young bricklayers, is to seize it.

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Bridget Phillipson is the Secretary of State for Education.

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