The Government would get better value for money from adult apprenticeships if funding was targeted at areas where the greatest economic returns could be achieved, the National Audit Office (NAO) reported this week.

In a 1 February study into the Apprenticeship Programme – run by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and partner body the Skills Funding Agency – the spending watchdog found that people aged above 25 comprised just under half (68%) of the 140% expansion in the scheme between 2006 and 2011.