Good news for apprentices as the minimum wage rises by £15 a week.

This week, the minimum wage for apprentices has increased from £80 to £95 a week, the TUC has announced.

The increase was announced at the 2008 TUC Congress by the former Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) John Denham.

According to national statistic bureau The Data Service, the number of apprenticeships that started in 2007/8 was the highest ever level recorded at 224,800, an increase of 21.9% from 2006/7. 25-year-olds and over showed a significant increase from 300 in 2006/7 to 27,200 a year later.

This figure could be set to increase once again in for 2008/9, as school leavers struggle to find full-time jobs and unemployment continues to climb.

TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “Thanks to union campaigning some of the worst paid apprentices should receive a much needed pay increase this week.

“The next move must be to protect apprentices with the minimum wage so that employers cannot exploit young trainees by ignoring the minimum pay rate. At a small cost to employers, this would improve the reputation of apprenticeships and encourage more young people to enrol.”

The Low Pay Commission has recently been campaigning for consideration of a new national minimum wage (NMW) for apprentices. According to the TUC, apprentices under the age of 19 and older workers in the first year of an apprenticeship are exempt from the NMW, and the union estimates that this equates to approximately 70% of apprentices.

Apprentices Minister, Iain Wright, commented: “I am committed to ensuring that an Apprenticeship is an option for all young people and we are establishing an entitlement to deliver this.

“I know the Low Pay Commission is sensitive to this and understands the need to balance the proper protection of young people from exploitation against the need to ensure a supply of high quality apprenticeship opportunities.”