Labour in apprentice guarantee vow

16 February 2015 Last updated at 11:53

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Labour would guarantee apprenticeships for every school leaver in England who "gets the grades" by 2020, Ed Miliband has said.

The pledge comes as Mr Miliband set out his party's business policies for the general election.

He argued better training and higher wages were key to boosting productivity.

The Conservatives have pledged to cap benefits further to fund three million apprenticeships.

But Labour claims the Tory plan does not offer high enough quality training.

Labour are talking about an extra 80,000 apprenticeships, with 33,000 to come from one project alone - the HS2 rail line.

The party's "guarantee" would only apply to young people who gain '"level 3 qualifications," which are equivalent to having two A Levels.

Those with two A levels would also qualify but not those who have GCSEs only.

'High quality'

The policy would be paid for by private companies bidding for public sector contracts. who would be required to have two year apprenticeships, and by diverting money from in-house training to "proper apprenticeships".

Money will be devoted to apprenticeships from funds earmarked for Labour's Jobs Guarantee for young people who are unemployed for a year.

In a speech to workers at the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Wolverhampton, Mr Miliband said: "At the moment just one in 10 employers in England offers an apprenticeship. Six times fewer high quality apprenticeships than Germany.

"We can do better, and with our plan we will: the public sector playing its part with thousands of apprenticeships; every firm that wins a major government contract required to deliver apprenticeships; every firm recruiting from outside the EU required to do the same; with businesses having more control over the funding.

"It is time to match the aspirations of our young people with the high quality apprenticeships they deserve.

"So under the next Labour government, if you get the grades at 18 you will be guaranteed an apprenticeship. That is what I mean by a better plan for working people, a better plan for Britain."

Setting out his vision of a "more inclusive prosperity," Mr Miliband said the key to boosting productivity is rewarding hard work for those on low and middle incomes.

'Better plan'

He repeated pledges to offer tax breaks to employers who adopt the living wage and raise the minimum wage closer to average earnings - £8 an hour - by 2020.

Mr Miliband also argued that there is a choice between "two plans at this election", and said: "A failing plan under which we would carry on as we are with a government claiming the economy is a success when it only works for a handful of people at the top.

"Or a new plan, a better plan, that says this economy must succeed for working families if Britain as a whole is going to succeed.

"Nothing more symbolises their failing plan than seeing the tax gap - between what should be paid and the revenue received - widening while the number of apprenticeships available for young people is falling."

The strategy, which is understood to be based US President Barack Obama's campaign to grow the economy was "from the middle out, not from the top down", was backed by former business secretary Lord Mandelson in an article for The Guardian.

Receipt row

But the party has been accused of failing to understand small business after Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said people should seek a receipt for every cash job by a cleaner or handyman.

He told BBC Radio 5's Pienaar's Politics he always demanded a written record, even if it was merely for £10 to trim a hedge, because it was the "right thing to do".

Mr Balls said: "It's not your job to pay their taxes for them and I think most people you give a tenner to are not going to be VAT-registered.

"They've got the legal obligation to make sure they pay their taxes if it's that kind of transaction - but I think the sensible thing for anybody is that you've got a record of it and you've done it properly."

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith told BBC Breakfast Mr Balls's comments demonstrated "Labour's complete lack of understanding of how business works and how people get by".

He added: "Here we have a man that would be the chancellor who is wandering around saying Big Brother is going to watch you carefully, that if you do any cash transactions and don't keep receipts, somehow they are going to punish you. I find that absurd."

The Conservatives have accused Labour of being anti-business.

Conservative Business Minister Matthew Hancock said: "In the past, Labour smothered small businesses in higher taxes and red tape, and Ed Miliband's damaging tax rises on business would mean fewer jobs, fewer firms and economic chaos."

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