Britain's major opposition Conservative party announced Monday skills scholarship plans for talented apprentices wanting to go to universities.
David Willetts, Shadow Innovation, Universities and Skills Secretary, made the announcement Monday morning on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference.
The proposal will see 1,200 new university places, opening up a vocational pathway to higher education and helping more people from non-traditional backgrounds study at a higher level.
According to Willetts, many of the beneficiaries are likely to be in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics sectors, providing a boost to the country's science base and British industry.
The 20-million-pound (one pound equals about 1.8 U.S. dollars) yearly scheme will be paid for out of the Business Skills Development Fund, announced in July this year as part of the Conservatives' overhaul of apprenticeships and training. The apprentices will study part-time and work part time, with their education costs covered.
"This will create a robust, accessible vocational pathway to higher learning for the first time. By the end of a Parliament, over 5,000 people should have benefited. That represents a fivefold increase in the number of apprentices studying at university. Spreading opportunity. Widening access. Changing livesby changing life chances," said the shadow secretary.
Some 15,000 people have gathered here in Britain's second largest city for the Conservatives' four-day annual party conference, which is widely deemed as a platform to flesh out substantial policies to prepare them for winning the next general election.
The Conservative party has been garnering an average 40 plus percent of voters' support in the last few months, leading the ruling Labour party by more than 10 percentage points. The Conservatives also hope to win people's trust in their capability to deal with the country's ongoing economic crisis.
Source: Xinhua
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