'Sussex councils need to employ more apprentices' (From The Argus)

'Sussex councils need to employ more apprentices'

2:10pm Monday 8th February 2010 in

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Town halls in Sussex have been named and shamed for failing to sign up more young people as apprentices.

Communities Secretary John Denham demanded to know why councils in the county had recruited far fewer apprentices than the national average.

A snapshot survey by the Department for Communities and Local Government suggested local authorities across England were hiring an average of one apprentice for every 248 employees.

But Brighton and Hove City Council had recruited just one for every 314 staff, East Sussex County Council one for every 422 and West Sussex County Council one for every 415.

Mr Denham questioned their efforts and called on them to do more to help people get work now.

The Government has made a revival of apprenticeships a key priority after admitting unemployment - plus cuts in university places - has made 18 year olds the biggest victims of the recession.

Sir Alan Sugar was appointed as Prime Minister Gordon Brown's enterprise adviser with funding of £1.1bn this year and a target of 15,000 extra local authority apprentices.