The Government has pledged two million apprenticeships by the end of this Parliament.
Declaring my interest both as a former Lucas apprentice and as chairman of WMG at the University of Warwick, I can assure you that big numbers are not what we should focus on.
For example, we should not be increasing the number of apprenticeships for those over 25 who are already in work, which is where the growth has been over the last few years. Such people are rarely learning a new trade, but simply getting on the job training paid for by the state.
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Nor should we see apprentices as a way of keeping unemployment statistics down. Rather, our objective should be a better skill base for the British economy.
For this, the total number of apprentices matters little, but the quality of skills training each receives matters a great deal. The truth is, this can vary widely.
Young people know this, which is why the best apprenticeships are massively oversubscribed.
We need better vocational and technical education for school and college leavers, and a better integration of higher and technical education, even if that means less apprentices overall.
Why do people wish to have an apprenticeship? For a learner it is a judgement that it will increase future earnings and employability. For an employer, it is an investment in their future workforce. The Government made a worthwhile step by expanding the apprenticeship grant for small businesses for 16 to 24-year-olds. However, the focus on quantity may lead funding bodies to neglect the value of quality.
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It would be better to get our very best institutions involved in delivering vocational education.
This would help companies give young workers a technical skills training comparable to the best in the world.
Despite all the money spent, we still have a huge issue with the skills base in this country.
Tony Blair once said that political interest in vocational education was so low that he could declare war on Iran during a speech on skills and no one would notice! How sad. The Government must press ahead with their plans to support manufacturers and exporters by investing in developing the skills we so desperately need.
* Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya is a Labour peer and founder of Warwick Manufacturing Group