Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

I gladly attached my name to this amendment when the noble Earl asked me whether I would be prepared to back it, because this is a very important issue. We know that the Government are putting a lot of pressure on public authorities to take apprentices. I believe that quite a number of them are now beginning to respond. Earlier today the noble Baroness, Lady Blackstone, pointed out that the University of Greenwich is thinking of taking on apprentices. I was delighted to hear that. As the noble Earl has said, those who are leaving care are disproportionately not represented among apprentices at the moment. Many of them are found in the category of NEET; that is, neither in education, employment nor training. Last year, we put through this House the Children and Young Persons Bill. The noble Earl mentioned that a lot of priority was given to these young people in different ways. We discussed the lack of job opportunities for them and the need to provide more. On looking at the wording, the thought that 10 per cent of these apprenticeships might go to young care leavers is perhaps a bit over the top. However, it is important to make the point that many of these young people come from chaotic backgrounds, as the noble Earl indicated. These are the kinds of young people that Rathbone and Barnardo’s are picking up and helping, but they need apprenticeships to go into. The types of training that Rathbone and Barnardo’s give to them are, in some respects, pre-apprenticeship training and, unless there are opportunities for them to go on to an apprenticeship, that will mean nothing very much. Going on from the pre-apprenticeship training given by Rathbone and Barnardo’s to a good apprenticeship in the public sector, where they are paid a guaranteed salary, would be a thoroughly good thing. Therefore, in the spirit of the amendment, I hope the Minister will be able to give us some indication that pressure will be put on public authorities to make good on this, not only in terms of endeavours but in terms of being required to look at, measure and quantify how many apprenticeships should go to former care leavers.