The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is celebrating the phenomenal growth of women taking up apprenticeships over the last 5 years.
He revealed the latest figures which show that more than 1 million women started apprenticeships between 2010 to 2011 and 2013 to 2014 compared to just 400,000 in the first 4 years of the last parliament.
The number of women starting an apprenticeship has also outstripped men by more than 130,000 since 2010. Over 1.1 million women have started apprenticeships since 2010 to 2011 compared to 972,000 men.
Furthermore, the number of women starting apprenticeships in business, administration and law has almost trebled.
The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “These encouraging statistics show that we are starting to see an end to the barely concealed snobbery of people thinking apprenticeships aren’t the path to a good career. In fact, they are becoming the first choice for earning and learning.
“The fact that we’re seeing more women seizing the opportunity is proof that apprenticeships are no longer seen as ‘jobs for the boys’, whilst also marking a positive new era where university is no longer seen as the only option.
“But there is still work to be done. I’m proud to see more apprenticeships being created across industries of all kinds, but I will continue to push for young people to have a growing range of vocational opportunities when they leave school.”
