More apprentices are sorely needed in the public sector

Since 2018 , more than 1.2bn has been raised in apprenticeship funding by England ’s biggest public sector bodies NHS Trusts , local authorities, police forces.

Yet more than 300 m has been unspent and returned to the government.

Number of apprenticeship starts have dropped by a third since 2017 , from nearly half a million to 337,000 .