Election 2015: What you need to know about apprenticeships

It's a word you're likely to be hearing quite a lot in the next few weeks, and it could be good news if you're struggling to find work or want a career qualification.

Desperate to get more young people on side and to be seen to be pro-business, the main political parties are all over apprenticeships.

So as the Conservatives hail plans to create 16,000 new apprenticeships and Labour respond with a promise for better careers advice for teens, we take a look at what the parties have to offer in terms of jobs and training.

One thing that's worth noting before we start.

Although apprenticeships are often billed as being a solution to youth unemployment, nearly 40% of those who enrolled in England in 2013/14 were actually over 25.

Conservatives

On Thursday David Cameron highlighted plans by firms to create 16,000 new apprenticeships, with a promise to create an extra three million 'training places' if the party remains in power after the general election in May.

They want to pay for it with money saved from benefits caps.

Baroness Brady, a Tory peer and star of The Apprentice (fittingly enough), said the party wants apprenticeships to be held on par with degrees.

That's important, because although the number of apprentices has soared under the coalition, Labour has claimed many of those training programmes weren't high enough quality, being 'intermediate level' (equal to five GCSE passes), rather than 'higher level' (equivalent to two A-levels).

Labour

Labour has pledged to create 80,000 more apprenticeships.

However, 33,000 of those would come from just one project, the High Speed 2 rail line (HS2).

That raises questions about what will happen once that project is complete, or if it suffers any delays.

Ed Miliband has promised apprenticeships to every school leaver who "gets the grades" - that's level 3 qualifications, which are equivalent to having two A-levels.

Those with two A-Levels will also qualify, but the scheme will exclude those who only have GCSEs.

The party has also announced plans to boost job prospects for young people by giving teenagers face-to-face advice in schools.

That will include steering people towards more apprenticeships, rather than directing them towards university or unskilled jobs.

The scheme has been budgeted at £50m.

Liberal Democrats

Nick Clegg has pledged to expand apprenticeships and develop national colleges for vocational skills.

He wants to end the "barely concealed snobbery" about apprenticeships, which he claims comes from adults, rather than young people.

The Lib Dems have gone to great lengths to point out the two million apprenticeships available under the coalition, stating that he and Vince Cable have been instrumental in pushing for them.

The party told Newsbeat it wants to double that number in the next parliament.

UKIP

UKIP has pledged to introduce an option for students to take an apprenticeship (with a qualification at the end) instead of four non-core GCSE subjects.

The employers they work with will be qualified to test and grade the apprentices, and the students can carry on working with them through their A-levels.

The party has also promised to scrap the target of 50% of school leavers going on to university, while scrapping tuition fees for some students taking degrees in high-demand vocational subjects like maths, technology, engineering, medicine and science - so long as they live, work and pay taxes in the UK for five years after they graduate.

Green Party

The Green Party hasn't published a specific policy on apprenticeships, but told Newsbeat: "[We] would expand apprenticeships by increasing funding.

"We would ensure the government provides an apprenticeship to all qualified young people aged 16-25 who do not have one and want one.

"{We would implement] a qualifications framework that would allow a real choice of academic and vocational areas, or a mixture of both.

"With students encouraged to have an understanding of a wide range of subjects, and allowed to pursue areas where their talents lie, they will have the best possible start to their careers."

SNP

The SNP has pledged to provide 125,000 "modern" apprenticeships in the next parliament, while also promising that every 16 to 19-year-old in the country who's out of work or training will be offered a place on a training or learning scheme.

The party has broken this down into at least 30,000 new apprenticeships every year, with a specific campaign on getting more women into vocational training.

"The SNP has been determined to do all that we can to encourage greater equality and ensure that there should be no industry or sector where women cannot build careers that are every bit as successful as their male counterparts."

The party has suggested it wants as many of the new jobs as possible to be in emerging high-tech industries such as renewable energy and life sciences.

Plaid Cymru

Plaid has pledged to support the European Union's Youth Jobs Guarantee that will provide training or employment to any young person under 25 who has been out of work for more than four months in an effort, they say, to tackle the root of youth unemployment.

They want to promote higher level apprenticeships and in-work learning, both for young people and adults.

So there you have it. All you should need to know about where the parties stand on apprenticeships and careers advice.

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