GOVERNMENT figures revealed by Labour yesterday show it is twice as hard for young people to get an apprenticeship than to get a university place.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills statistics show that the number of under-25s starting apprenticeships has fallen by 11,324 under the Con-Dem government. 

That means youngsters are three times more likely to get a place at Oxford than an apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce and twice as likely to earn a first-class honours degree as land a traineeship with Jaguar Land Rover.