More apprentices would add £4bn to GDP

A new report ahead of National Apprenticeship Week argues that raising apprentice levels by up to 300,000 required to match other G20 countries would help bridge the productivity gap between Britain and competing nations. It would also reduce youth unemployment, currently running at 20 per cent.

Regional analysis shows that Leeds is doing better than the national average when it comes to the number of apprentices. Demos researchers found that the city of Leeds had 3.21 apprentices per 1,000 working age people, compared to an average of 3.14 across England.

The report, supported by British Gas, cites CEBR figures that show, on average, that an apprenticeship typically raises an employee’s productivity by £214 per week, leading to both increased wages and higher company profits.

Demos found that England is lagging significantly behind other western economies with just 11 apprentices for every 1,000 employees, compared with 39 in Australia, 40 in Germany and 43 in Switzerland.

Fewer than ten per cent of employers in England offer apprenticeships, compared to at least a quarter of employers in other countries.

British Gas is currently training 79 at its academy in Leeds.