A government drive to increase diversity in apprenticeships and improve access for people from a minority background has been welcomed by the Association of Colleges (AoC).

The Department for Education’s 5 Cities Project aims to help people from underrepresented groups to become an apprentice. A group of metro mayors, from London to Leicester, will work with the DfE to increase the number of black and minority ethnic (BAME) apprentices by 20 per cent by the end of the decade.

The director of the National Apprenticeship Service, Sue Husband, said ahead of the launch that apprenticeship applicants from minority backgrounds were less likely to be picked than their white counterparts.

Diversity in apprenticeships

AoC chief executive David Hughes welcomed the move to give apprenticeships a higher profile among underrepresented groups. 

He said: “The AoC has been campaigning for more work to be done on access to apprenticeships for a while so it’s good to see practical steps being taken to combat this challenge.

“Apprenticeships are a vital approach to building the skills and experience of our future workforce, whilst at the same time ensuring they are employed. This should help to improve the diversity of people able to benefit from those opportunities.”

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