Following the publication of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee report on apprenticeships, SummitSkills has welcomed conclusions that suggest quality, and not just quantity, should be the UK's focus for apprenticeships.

"To ensure a skilled workforce for the future, it's vital that something is done now. If not there'll be huge issues around labour shortages, which, in the long run, will result in employers having to pay more money,” he said.

“Apprenticeships need to be made more attractive, in particular to young people. There's no point them spending the majority of their time in a college environment, they need real hands-on experience."

Evans is on the UK National Steering Committee for the Build Up Skills programme, a UK initiative backed by the European Commission which aims to support closing the training and skills gap in the UK workforce to enable it to meet the EU 2020 energy efficiency targets.