Jobs Plans: 22,400 apprenticeships a year for under-25s and 40,000 on site

On 19 October the government published two Industrial Strategy Jobs Plans — one for Professional and Business Services, one for Construction. They are not vague promises: both name annual numbers of places and the industries ready to take on a young person without a university degree.

What exactly was announced on 19 October?

Two Jobs Plans under the Industrial Strategy: Professional and Business Services (PBS) and Construction. GOV.UK says they will support 22,400 new apprenticeships a year for people aged under 25, alongside 40,000 construction placements annually. This is the start of a week of Jobs Plans: Digital and Technologies and Defence are due later this week, with Advanced Manufacturing and Creative Industries to follow. Plans for Financial Services, Clean Energy Industries and Life Sciences were published earlier.

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How many apprenticeships will law and accountancy firms create?

22,400 a year, for the next five years. That is what PBS firms — accountants, legal services and consultants — have committed to recruiting among under-25s. The roles GOV.UK lists run from accountancy, business and law through to AI, cyber security and data analytics.

The sector also promised a 20% increase in work experience opportunities for young people, and systems to measure and track recruitment and support for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). Pay and conditions are in the commitments too: wider adoption of the Living Wage, a new PBS Good Jobs Standard, AI literacy training, and tracking greater salary transparency in early-career recruitment.

What does construction promise?

40,000 placements a year, part of a previously announced industry ambition of 100,000 job opportunities annually. For smaller firms a Construction Apprenticeship Network is being created, so a small contractor can take on apprentices without building a training programme from scratch.

The trades named are bricklaying, carpentry, electrical work and plumbing, alongside engineering, surveying, planning and construction management. The industry bodies behind it are the Construction Skills Mission Board and the Construction Leadership Council.

What changes in defence?

Following September's agreement, defence firms will expand work experience and pathways for NEET young people by 25%. Industry is also introducing a "no wrong door" approach, so a suitable candidate who approaches one firm can be pointed to opportunities elsewhere in the supply chain. Defence apprenticeships are to reach at least 14,000 a year by 2035.

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How much does the state pay an employer to take an apprentice?

Up to £2,000 — a new incentive for SMEs that take on a 16 to 24-year-old apprentice. The National Insurance exemption also continues for under-21s and for apprentices under 25. All of it sits inside a £2.5 billion youth employment package which, on the government's figures, should deliver almost one million opportunities to earn or learn, including 50,000 additional apprenticeships.

Are these sectors worth it for the money?

One figure in the notes to editors is worth the read: jobs in the eight Industrial Strategy priority sectors pay on average around £8,000 a year more than jobs across the wider economy. That is a sector average rather than a guaranteed rate, but it shows the direction.

Where do you look for an apprenticeship today?

GOV.UK runs the apply-for-an-apprenticeship service: search live vacancies and apply through an account. The 19 October plans are employer commitments stretching years ahead; the vacancies in that search exist now.

Two things to keep in mind: the plans land ahead of the final Milburn review into young people and employment, and delivery on the ground falls to mayors and Local Skills Improvement Plans. In parallel, T Levels are expanding and V Levels, Vocational GCSEs and Technical Excellence Colleges are arriving — the government is building the school-to-trade route from both ends at once.

ONLYWAY.NEWS will follow the remaining plans: Digital and Technologies and Defence are due this week.