Apprenticeships 'need better focus' - Adrian Bailey

Urgent reform is needed to the government's apprenticeships programme, an 11-month review has concluded.

Standards need to be improved and schemes need to be better monitored in order to provide the skills needed to boost economic growth, a report by MPs said.

The Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Committee report into apprenticeships is urging schemes to be more ambitious

Chairman of the BIS Committee, Adrian Bailey told BBC News that the programme needed to be focused on being relevant to participants, rather than driven by the number of apprenticeships offered.