Boris Johnson has described them as key to unlocking opportunities for the young and last year promised that every young person who wanted to should be able to get one.
But as Onward, the Tories' favourite think-tank, warned today, a shortage of apprenticeships for young people is hindering the Prime Minister's levelling up agenda, particularly on Merseyside.
New figures showing how apprenticeship numbers have fallen nationwide reveal that one of the top ten worst-hit Parliamentary constituencies are in the region. In the Parliamentary constituency of Wallasey there were 740 apprenticeships in 2018/19 compared to 1,710 in 2011/12, a drop of 57%, according to Onward's analysis of government data.
