Fears for ‘lost generation’ as manufacturers snub apprentice scheme

A £2,000 taxpayer-funded incentive is failing to persuade employers to hire apprentices, sparking fresh fears over a “lost generation” of young workers as Covid wrecks jobs. Just 12.5pc of businesses in the manufacturing and industrial sector - the traditional heartland of vocational training - said the Government cash influenced their decisions on whether or not to employ apprentices, according to research by trade group MakeUK. Around 43.5pc of industrial companies said they