Boris Johnson vows to boost apprenticeships if he becomes PM to give young people ‘bright future without huge debts’

BORIS Johnson has vowed to boost funding for apprenticeships if he becomes Prime Minister.

The Tory leadership hopeful said apprentices can enjoy "futures just as bright as any university graduate" without being saddled with "huge debts".

Johnson praised the work of apprentices in his column, calling them "indispensable to the future of this country".

He also spoke about his love of making Airfix models as child and the "unbeatable satisfaction that comes from making something with your own hands."

Johnson added: "We need to make sure that we not only properly fund all manner of technical and vocational education — from further education colleges to apprenticeships — and if I am lucky enough to be elected, we will."

His pledge comes after he made the unexpected claim that he likes to make and paint models of buses in his free time.

It's claimed that Johnson would aim to boost non-university options for young people and revive a £100million "retraining fund" to give workers useful skills.

Dominic Raab, the former Brexit Secretary, and Liz Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, are understood to have been involved in developing the policy plans.

This could mean they're in line for top jobs in a hypothetical BoJo cabinet.

Johnson said he'd made model Spitfires and an HMS Ark Royal as boy, while BAE Systems' apprentices who he met on Friday were building "the real thing" — HMS Glasgow, a Type 26 frigate.

He added that they were doing a high-wage and high-skill job.

And despite saying he would always defend university degrees, he said: "There are far too many young people who leave university with huge debts, and no clear sense of how their academic qualification has helped their career."

The new educational policy comes after a poll showed twice as many Tories want Boris to be the next PM over Jeremy Hunt.

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