New figures from the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills show 1,190 people started an apprenticeship in Gloucester in the last 12 months.
Liberal Democrats in Government have led the apprentice drive and are on course to deliver two million apprenticeships in Britain by the end of this parliament.
Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Gloucester, Cllr. Jeremy Hilton said:
“Gone are the days when a vocational education was seen as the poor relation when it came to choosing a career path. Apprenticeships offer young people an opportunity to earn a living while they learn their vocation.
“We are seeing more young people choosing apprenticeships while hearing from businesses in Gloucester who say they simply couldn’t function without the talent and ambition they bring. The recent Grow Gloucestershire Showcase Awards held at Cheltenham Racecourse, which I attended, showed how important apprenticeships are to young people starting out on their careers and to their employers.
“All young people in Gloucester should have an opportunity to get on in life and apprenticeships are a great way to deliver that.
“Vince Cable the Business Secretary and Liberal Democrats have pushed this policy in Government and made sure apprentice programmes are rigorous, responsive and meet the changing needs of the future economy.
“Delivering on apprenticeships helps build the stronger economy and fairer society Britain needs.”