APPRENTICESHIP numbers have fallen sharply for the second year running in spite of the government making workplace training a cornerstone of its jobs policy.

Provisional numbers released by the Department for Business show 66,000 fewer people started apprenticeships in the last academic than in 2013/14.

Across the North-East 26,730 apprenticeships were started in 2014/15 - down by 3,750 from a year earlier, and a drop of almost 12,000 on the figure for 2011/12.

In Darlington the provisional year-on-year figures showed 220 fewer people started apprenticeships this year, while in Stockton there we 460 fewer.

A Government spokesperson said the provisional figure could be revised upwards when the final numbers are published later this year.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “Small, medium and large employers in the North-East are playing a crucial role in creating a modern and competitive workforce that boosts the country’s productivity and prosperity.

“I want to work with as many of these businesses as possible to ensure they continue to shape the future of apprenticeships so that we can reach the target of 3 million by 2020.”

However, the drive to boost skills appears to have stalled amid a steadily downward trend in apprenticeship take-ups over the last three years.

David Cameron has pledged to create three million apprenticeships over the term of this parliament as his government bids to address a skills gap that threatens jobs and growth. To help reach that target public bodies – including schools, hospitals, prisons and police forces – will be set targets to employ apprentices as part of their workforce.

A total of 2.3 million apprenticeships were created during the five years of the Coalition - most of them in service industries such as healthcare, administration and retail.

Between 2009 and 2011 there was a huge increase in apprenticeships, but much of it was driven by over-25s, as workplace training schemes for older workers were counted towards the apprenticeship total.

Concerns about the quality of training and advice for young people have also been raised. In March, the education select committee released its report on apprenticeships and traineeships for 16 to 19-year-olds, in which it warned against sacrificing quality for the sake of increased numbers.

The report criticised “inadequate” careers advice, and called for an urgent review of incentives for schools to provide good careers and apprenticeship advice, adding that "trusting schools does not work when the interests of schools and young people are not aligned".

The economic and social benefits of apprenticeships are widely acknowledged. The National Audit Office estimates that the economy gains £18 for every £1 of public funding towards apprenticeships.

But many employers believe that the Government should move away from a target-based approach and towards a demand-led model. There are also rising calls for small and medium-sized forms to get greater support.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, welcomed Mr Cameron's determination to boost apprentice numbers, but pointed out reforms would be needed to achieve it.

“As construction accounts for about 7 per cent of GDP, it means our sector should be responsible for around 210,000 of these apprenticeships, which equates to 42,000 a year over the next parliament. Given that the industry only achieved 16,000 in 2013/2014 (and a similar number this year), there is a lot of work to be done,” he said.

The building trade says that with almost 40 per cent of construction output coming from the public sector, government must only award contracts to those who take on apprentices.

“In the past, there has been evidence to suggest that pledges by firms to train apprentices have not transpired. Government needs to get better at policing its contractual stipulations if we are to really crank up the level of apprenticeships via the public sector,” said Mr Berry.

In the meantime, fears that skilled workers ‘may vanish’ from the UK if further government cuts in education are allowed to continue, have been raised by an architect of the government’s vocational training programme.

Professor Alison Wolf said cuts to Further Education colleges and growth of universities could see UK lose valuable source of technicians, engineers and mechanics.

Prof Wolf has produced an 87-page report goes on to say that spending per head on the 20 to 60-year-old population has halved since 2010, while cuts in the early years of the Coalition meant the total skills budget fell below 2002 levels a decade later.

“I think we should be very alarmed about this — it’s a serious potential crisis,” she said.

She argued that “unstable, inefficient, untenable and unjust” funding if destroying education for school-leavers outside of university.

“It damages and affects the nature of the industrial structure of this country. If you create a system in which vocational training can’t be funded, that is going to have a knock-on effect on which parts of the economy flourish and which don’t.”