Lord Knight, a former Labour education minister, and Lord Willetts, former Conservative universities minister, have urged employers, training providers and young people to get involved in a ‘call for evidence’.
They want their views, evidence and ideas on how to improve the UK’s apprenticeship offerings in these sectors.
Despite a modest uptick in numbers last year, engineering-related apprenticeship starts in England are still 9 per cent lower than in 2014/15. The uptake varies by subject, but engineering and manufacturing technologies in particular have seen a 34 per cent decline.
“Apprenticeships, especially in engineering and technology, enjoy enormous political and media support and are a crucial route into work for many people,” Lord Willets said. “Meanwhile the number of young people actually doing these apprenticeships is falling.”
“Our inquiry will draw on expert evidence to understand why this is happening and what can be done about it, so...