Good news for potential apprentices, the apprentice minimum wage has increased from £80 per week to£95 a week! (2009 figures - for latest apprentice wage tables see: National Wage Rates - gov.uk)
Apprentices are exempt from national minimum wage but as of August are getting a pay rise of £15. Whilst most employers do pay way above the national minimum apprentice wage of £80 already, some apprentices are still getting by on it so an extra 60 quid a month can be the difference between staying in & going out (and eating lobster).
If you still think that you could never get by on £95 a week, rest assured as the average pay for apprentices is still over £170 a week. The changes in apprentice minimum wage have been championed by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) who look after worker's rights. According to the TUC the most affected by these changes will be female apprentices who are more likely to be getting by on the current £80 wage.
Another to champion the changes in the apprentice minimum wage is Tom Mursell, founder of the school leaver website notgoingtouni.co.uk who said, "For potential apprentices this is great news; apprenticeships have long been seen as low paid but the benefits outweigh this. I welcome the increase in pay for apprentices to help promote the Government's aims at making apprenticeships a more attractive option for school leavers. The change in the apprentice wage system comes at a time when on the whole apprenticeships have increased fourfold while young apprenticeships have fallen 8%.
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