The skills minister has said the government will stick with its commitment to 20 per cent off the job training in apprenticeships in order to compete internationally.

Anne Milton was addressing the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ National Conference in London, giving a speech that lacked any new policy announcements.

A poll of audience members at the Novotel London West revealed that the requirement was perceived the biggest barrier to increasing the number of apprenticeship starts.

Ms Miton said she would “be reluctant” to remove the 20 per cent requirement, as it was already “the lowest in the OECD”.

Too early for review

In remarks further distancing the Conservative government from its manifesto commitment to creating 3 million apprenticeships by 2020, the minister said that quality was more important than numbers: “We could easily get hundreds, thousands, millions of apprenticeships if we lowered the quality.”

In March, Ms Milton admitted she has “absolutely no idea” where the government’s 3 million target came from. Former skills minister Nick Boles called the target “a nonsense” earlier in the month.

On the 10 per cent contribution for smaller, non-levy-paying employers, the skills minister said it was too early to remove the co-investment requirement.

She said: “One of the battles for a minister is to demonstrate causality, and I think that is hard within a year.”