The week commencing 14 March 2016 is National Apprenticeship
Week 2016. To mark the start of this event, seven business leaders
from leading employers in the UK such as Fortnum & Mason,
Deloitte and Prezzo met at the Shard and made pledges to increase
the number of apprentices in their businesses. For example,
Starbucks pledged to take on an extra 1,000 apprentices in its
business by 2020. These pledges will assist the government with its
own pledge to create 3 million apprenticeships in the UK by
2020.
These pledges came after Prudential released a survey on 14
March 2016, which suggests that 85 per cent of school leavers
underestimate the amount of pay that apprentices receive, even
though the average weekly wage is £257 per week. Prudential
also launched its own 2016 apprenticeship programme, which will
create 40 apprenticeships for young people who will be paid the
National Living Wage of £7.20 an hour (significantly above
the current Apprentice rate of £3.30 per
