The Conservative party will pledge to scrap thousands of university courses to help fund 100,000 apprenticeships per year if they win the general election in July.
The party said it would replace the “worst-performing” degrees – those that offer poor job prospects or have high drop-out rates – and prioritise gearing apprenticeships towards young people.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, schools minister Damian Hinds claimed there had been a “huge increase in quality” in apprenticeships under Conservative governments. He said that now was the time to expand to “make sure we’re maximising the available opportunities for young people” and supporting businesses.
Last July, the government said it would introduce a cap on “low-value” degrees it believes are “ripping off” students and taxpayers.
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This gave the Office for Students in England the power to investigate and sanction universities that offer poor outcomes for students.
The Conservative party has now said it will introduce a new law that would give the OfS even greater powers to close the poorest-performing university courses.
Hinds used the example of computer science degrees, which have led to a range of earnings outcomes for graduates from £18,000 to £80,000, demonstrating that not all courses offer the same value.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson called the announcement “laughable” and accused the Conservatives of having “presided over a halving of apprenticeships for young people”.
The most recent statistics from the Department of Education showed a continued decline in apprenticeship starts, falling by 4.6% in the 2022/23 academic year.
There were also more higher-level apprenticeships funded by the apprenticeship levy and fewer starts among 16 to 19-year-olds, according to government figures.
The Labour Party has pledged to introduce technical excellence colleges aimed at training workers for local industries. It will also adapt the apprenticeship levy to become a “growth and skills levy” which would enable businesses to spend half of their levy payments on more flexible training courses.
Earlier this month, the Institute of Student Employers called on the next government to focus on improving the apprenticeship levy and offer more support for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into employment.
A CIPD poll last week on the introduction of an “apprenticeships guarantee” for people under the age of 24 found that nine in 10 employers think that apprenticeships should be used primarily to help young people to enter the workforce, rather than using the levy to rebadge existing training schemes.
The Conservatives claim that this policy would save the taxpayer £910 million by the end of the decade, with the money used to expand the apprenticeship programme.
Munira Wilson, education spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats, said the Conservatives had “broken the apprenticeship system” and “urgent reform is needed”.
“The shockingly low pay for those on apprenticeships will remain, doing nothing to encourage more people to take apprenticeships up or tackle soaring dropout rates,” she said.
University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady said: “Higher education provides a ladder of opportunity to working-class communities, so it is no wonder the Conservative party continues to attack it.
“The Tories have had 14 years to improve further education and provide more apprenticeships, but they have repeatedly missed their own apprenticeship recruitment targets while making brutal cuts, which have left colleges on their knees.
“We need an end to Tory MPs playing politics with further and higher education, and sustainable funding for the whole sector.”
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