A summary of highlights of the Conservative party’s pledges about education, apprenticeships and careers advice should it win the general election on 7 May.
- Having boosted the number of apprenticeships to 2.2 million over the last five years, one of the highlights was the pledge to support three million new apprenticeships, and treble the number of apprenticeships in food, farming and agri-tech.
- This involves continuing to replace “the lower-level, classroom based Further Education courses with high quality apprenticeships that combine training with experience of work and a wage.”
- More Degree Apprenticeships will be introduced so that young people can combine “a world-class degree with a world-class apprenticeship”
- The reforms to university funding mean you do not have to pay towards tuition while studying, so you start paying back if you earn over £21,000 per year.
- They have also pledged to introduce a Youth Allowance for 18-21 year-olds which is limited to 6 months, after which young people will have to take an apprenticeship, traineeship or do daily community work for their benefits
- Jobcentre Plus advisers will work with schools and colleges to help with careers advice and provide routes into work experience and apprenticeships
See the full Manifesto at s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/manifesto2015/ConservativeManifesto2015.pdf
