Conservatives plan to give employers £2,000 per apprentice

Employers would be offered £2,000 to take on and train apprentices under plans by the Conservatives due to be announced this week.

Almost 100,000 new places for apprentices would be created under a Conservative government, the party's skills secretary David Willetts has said.

Willetts is due to unveil plans designed to make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to take on apprentices and help them learn valuable skills on the job. Firms will be offered a £2,000 bonus for each apprentice who completes the scheme.

The money would be found by streamlining funding and reducing bureaucratic burdens on employers, Willetts added. "We're saying to employers we'll lower the hassle and give you a bigger incentive.

"Our recommendations are aimed at improving social mobility," he said. "Many of our social problems stem from the disengagement of young people and we want to provide more opportunities, particularly to young men, to get them off the streets and on their way in life."

Last week the government outlined its draft Apprenticeships Bill in a bid to boost the number of places offered and give every school leaver the legal right to an apprecticeship.