David Willetts

A national apprenticeships website heavily promoted by Sir Alan Sugar has hired just one apprentice for every 25 vacancies listed, new figures have revealed.

The 13 colleges whose capital projects have been given the go-ahead by the Government are all in Labour constituencies, Conservative research has revealed.

Commenting on the final report from the House of Commons Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee, Shadow Universities and Skills Secretary David Willetts said:

Commenting on the publication of the final report by Alan Milburn’s Panel on Fair Access to the Professions, David Willetts, Shadow Universities and Skills Secretary, said:

Today’s National Audit Office report on Train to Gain shows the Government has spent hundreds of millions of pounds on training which employers would have provided anyway.

In response to Peter Mandelson’s announcement on new university places, David Willetts MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Universities and Skills, said:

On the day that a cross-party Committee condemns the Government for its handling of the capital crisis in Further Education, David Willetts, the Shadow Secretary of State for Universities and Skills, will host a Further Education and Skills Forum.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement to the Commons Liaison Committee that the Government will increase the number of university places for the coming academic year, David Willetts MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Universities and Skills, said:

In response to new UCAS figures out tomorrow, which show a 10 per cent rise in applications for university, David Willetts, the Shadow Secretary of State for Universities and Skills, said:

In response to reports that the Government is planning to introduce ‘no-fee degrees’ for students who live at home, David Willetts, the Shadow Secretary of State for Universities and Skills, said:

Commenting on the statistics on graduate employment published today, the Shadow Secretary for Universities and Skills, David Willetts, said:

In Prime Minister’s Questions today, Gordon Brown once again made dishonest claims about Labour’s spending plans. Meanwhile, one of his junior ministers slipped out the news that the Government has announced cuts in the amount of support for students. David Willetts, the Shadow Secretary of State for Universities and Skills, said:

A mere 13 of the 144 frozen college building projects have been given the go-ahead, ministers revealed today. Every one of the approved projects is in a Labour-held seat.

Official figures published today show that, despite ministers’ targets of more apprenticeships for young people, the number of 16 to 18 year olds starting an apprenticeship fell by eight per cent in the first three quarters of 2008/09, and the number of 19 to 24 year-olds starting an apprenticeship fell by two per cent.

New Government figures published today show that both a record number and proportion of young people are not in any form of education, employment or training. The data shows that there are now 935,000 16-24 year-old NEETs in England, up from 810,000 last year.