The Prime Minister’s promise to end “rip-off Mickey Mouse” degrees would push 100,000 people into £6.40 a hour jobs under current pay rates, critics have warned.
The Conservatives announced that up to one in eight courses could be closed down, with the money saved from tuition fee loans put towards 100,000 extra apprenticeships.
This would constitute a rise of nearly a third compared to the 340,000 offered in 2023. But campaign groups for apprentices warned that the policy would trap young people on lower salaries.
The national minimum wage rate for an apprentice aged between 16 and 18 is £6.40. Those over the age of 19 can also be paid £6.40 in the first year of their apprenticeship.
For an apprentice working 40 hours a week, this equates to an annual salary of just £13,312, a third of the median annual wage in the UK.
A worker on the average salary of £34,963 would only have to work until May 17 each year to match an apprentice’s wage, campaign groups said.
Chloe Field, of the National Union of Students (NUS), said: “We hear time and time again that the £6.40 minimum wage for apprentices stops people from poorer backgrounds from being able to access apprenticeships.
She added: “If the Conservatives want to encourage more people to undertake apprenticeships, they must raise the apprentice minimum wage to the Real Living Wage.”
Mr Sunak, who is campaigning in the South West on Wednesday, said: “Improving education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet for boosting life chances. So it’s not fair that some university courses are ripping young people off.
“Thanks to our plan, apprenticeships are much higher quality than they were under Labour. And now we will create 100,000 more, by putting an end to rip-off degrees and offering our young people the employment opportunities and financial security they need to thrive.”
The gap between the National Living Wage, which is currently £11.44 for those aged 21 and over, and £8.60 for those between 18 and 20, and the rates for younger workers has widened in recent years, the Low Pay Commission found in March.
A report from the commission found that there are grounds to remove the rate for apprentices, but that reducing the size of the gap between older and younger workers should be prioritised.
The apprentice rate should instead be a simple discount from the National Living Wage for those starting their studies as adults, the report recommended.
Susan Loughlin from the National Society of Apprentices, said: “It is a common misconception that apprentices don’t need to be paid a living wage because we are all young people being supported by our parents, but this is not true. Many of us are estranged, living independently, or have children ourselves.
“All political parties should prioritise a living wage for all, including apprentices, in the upcoming general election,” Ms Loughlin added.
The Conservative Party was contacted for comment.
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