Gordon Brown has unveiled plans for a new taskforce to tackle Britain's skills gap.

The chancellor was joined by education secretary Charles Clarke for the launch of the National Modern Apprenticeship Taskforce, which will examine the options available to students who opt for trade and vocational qualifications.

It will review the National Modern Apprenticeships scheme, which covers training for industry.

Modern apprenticeships were launched in 1994 to help young people aged 16 to 24 learn "on the job" to gain National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs).

Since the scheme began more than 780,000 people have gained qualifications.

"Skills are Britain's Achilles heel - eight million people have below Level 2 qualifications, including 20 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds," said Brown.

"And skills are critical to an individual's chance of success - to push a teenager into the world of work today without any qualification is to put them at lifetime risk of poverty, failure and wasted potential."

Education and skills secretary Charles Clarke said: "At a time when many employers report skill shortage problems we need boldly to address the training gaps in the present and future workforce."

He said modern apprenticeships have "a key role to play" in giving young people the skills they need to do the job to the standards required by employers.

Taskforce chairman Sir Roy Gardner will lead the review, which will hear from both employers and training centres

"We have a significant responsibility here to British industry and the economy generally to tackle the skills gap now facing many companies," he said.

The review will partly answer criticism that ministers have focused too closely on increasing the number of people going to university.

CBI chief Digby Jones will be among members of the taskforce, which was announced in the last pre-Budget report.

Although employers are broadly in favour of the scheme, they want to know why the take-up has not been better.

Bosses highlight skills gaps in customer care and poor communication skills among trainees in almost all sectors.

Businesses in London and the South East suffer disproportionately from skill shortages, says business.

Opposition parties have already highlighted the problem, arguing that the government needs to step in before the age of 16.

The Conservatives have called for technical schools to be created and for vocational training to begin at the age of 13.

"We all agree that vocational education in Britain needs to be done better and started earlier. The question is how to do it better, and when to start," said the party's education spokesman, Damian Green.