NEW concerns have been raised about the quality of apprenticeships.

Labour has drawn attention to the Business Department’s own research which found almost four in 10 firms offering apprenticeships don’t even realise they are doing so.

Since 2010, in-work training schemes for existing employees have been rebadged as apprenticeships by the government, to fix their struggling figures, say Labour who claim this has shifted their focus away from new entrants to the workforce and raised concerns that the apprenticeship ‘gold standard’ has been undermined.

The new research comes as the proportion of apprenticeship starts made up by 16 to 24 year olds has fallen significantly from 82.3 per cent when the last Labour government left office, to 63.2 per cent last year.

BIS research also finds that two-thirds of employers recruiting apprentices from existing staff don’t consider their qualifications to be apprenticeships at all, and this number is increasing.

The proportion of apprenticeships made up by over 25s have more than doubled, from 17.4 per cent in 2009/10 to 36.7 per cent in 2013/14.

Among apprentices over 25 years old, 93 per cent already worked for their employer before starting their apprenticeship, raising concerns that existing training programmes for those already in work are simply being rebadged as apprenticeships.

Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, said:

“Under the Tory-led government, we’ve seen the historic and trusted apprenticeship brand tarnished. In-work training schemes have simply been rebranded as apprenticeships so that ministers can boast of increased numbers, when the true picture is far less rosy.

“Where this government has failed, the next Labour government will act to safeguard apprenticeship quality, and we’d use the money which government already spends on procurement to create thousands of new top class apprenticeships.

“Our rigorous new standards would ensure that apprenticeships are a trusted gold standard once more and address the way they have been downgraded under this government.”