Apprentices to receive pay boost

Apprentices are to receive a higher minimum wage under new rules announced by the Government.

Speaking at the annual TUC conference, Skills Secretary John Denham said the minimum rate of pay for apprentices in England would rise from £80 to £95 per week ‘during next year’.

Denham went on to insist that workplace learning qualifications would be available to one in five young people in England within a decade.

Approximately 26,000 apprentices are expected to benefit from the £15 increase, which is likely to take effect from August 2009.

‘The average net earnings of an apprentice each week is £170 but the Government wants to ensure that the earnings of all apprentices are fair,’ the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills said in a statement.

Last week Chancellor Alistair Darling addressed union members at the Brighton conference and rejected calls to scrap a 2% cap on public sector pay rises.