Ivan Lewis

The government is stepping up its efforts to promote Modern Apprenticeships.

A £16 million advertising campaign is being launched in an attempt to sell the benefits of "earning while you learn" to younger people.

The apprenticeships are available to 16 to 24-year-olds, and offer work-based training in over 80 industries.

The advertising campaign is intended to help meet the government's target of having 28 per cent of the target age group, 175,000 people, in the scheme within three years.

With an estimated 125,000 young people currently undertaking an Advanced Modern Apprenticeship and over 90,000 on a Foundation Modern Apprenticeship, the government hopes the Learning and Skills Council's campaign will boost numbers by a further 35,000.

"We want Modern Apprenticeships to become established as a world class on-the-job training programme," said young people's minister Ivan Lewis.