Firms offering fake or low-quality apprenticeships could face prosecution under new rules

The government has launched a crackdown on companies who provide bogus training courses and fake apprenticeships that leave students out-of-pocket and unqualified.

A study by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) found that many students had been lured into apprenticeships which offered low-level training and were left underqualified for jobs in the construction industry.

According to BIS, firms caught offering offering fake or low-quality training will now be prosecuted for misusing the term 鈥榓pprenticeship鈥� and face a fine and prosecution in a Magistrates Court. The government is committed to giving apprenticeships similar legal protection as university degrees.

Skills minister Nick Boles said: 鈥淓veryone knows what a university degree means. It鈥檚 an official title. Young people doing apprenticeships should get the same level of distinction.

鈥淚鈥檓 supporting working people by defining the word 鈥榓pprenticeship鈥� in law. This will ensure people get the best training and opportunities.鈥�

Balfour Beatty, who currently recruits approximately 150 apprentices a year, welcomed the protection. Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty chief executive said: 鈥淧rotecting and enhancing apprenticeships as proposed by the Government鈥檚 Enterprise Bill will further build the status of apprenticeships and help to encourage business to invest in them.

鈥淥ur industry needs talent and skills, therefore it is crucial that apprenticeships remain world-class so that we can continue to attract the best and brightest individuals.鈥�

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