BUSINESS leaders have called for improvements to the Modern Apprenticeships scheme to help boost workers' skills.
Hundreds of East Lancashire teenagers take part in Modern Apprenticeship courses which combine a job with training.
The Institute of Directors said the Government should give more help to smaller firms to help train employees under the scheme.
The business group, which represents 50,000 directors, called for communication and information technology skills to be integral to all Modern Apprenticeship courses.
Only 14 per cent of British workers have intermediate level vocational qualifications, compared to 46 per cent in Germany, the IoD pointed out in a report.
"The failure to train and equip a greater proportion of the UK labour force with vocational skills has contributed to skill shortages in the UK economy and has probably impaired productivity," said IoD business policy executive Richard Wilson.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article