The government is “refocusing funding away” from advanced master’s level apprenticeships towards lower-level opportunities for young people. It believes shifting funding from level 7 apprenticeships will improve opportunities for the one in eight 16- to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training. It also aims to tackle “a dramatic fall” in the number of apprenticeship places starting over the last decade.

Another focus of the government’s £3 billion apprenticeship budget will be to create more apprenticeships focusing on the construction, healthcare and digital industries. It is hoping to create 120,000 new apprenticeship places, with 30,000 of these starting across the current Parliament.