Skip to main content
Cable drops apprentice loan scheme after just 404 apply
Apprenticeship loan scheme ditched after less then 2 per cent of the target number applied for loans

Ministers ditched their controversial loan scheme for adult apprentices yesterday after attracting just 404 applications - well short of the 25,000 target.

Business Secretary Vince Cable announced the embarrassing climbdown seven months after the scheme was launched.

It was opened in April after the government slapped a £4,000 price tag on apprenticeships for over-24s for the first time.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Pupils in a classroom
Features / 14 April 2026
14 April 2026

Cuts are sweeping campuses as cash-strapped universities slash staff and politicians fail to act on a growing funding emergency. VINCE MILLS reports

'RERUM COGNOSCERE CAUSAS/DISCOVER THE CAUSES OF THINGS’: Fighting departamental closures - the occupation of Jessop West in 2023 at the University of Sheffield / Pic: Sheffield Action Group/CC
Features / 13 November 2025
13 November 2025

JACK DAVIDSON explains the motivation behind the UCU strike action at the University of Sheffield

A �10 note issued by the Bank of England featuring a portrait of King Charles III in a piggy bank. Picture date: Tuesday August 20, 2024
Cost-of-living Crisis / 12 August 2025
12 August 2025