Apprenticeships to be 'the new norm' says David Cameron 11 March 2013 Last updated at 03:55 David Cameron is to pledge to make apprenticeships the "new norm" for school leavers who choose not to go to university. The PM is to say he wants work-based training to sit "at the heart of our mission to rebuild the economy." He will use a visit to a training academy in Buckinghamshire to call on employers, educators and MPs to expand apprenticeship roles for young people. Forecasts suggest apprentices could add up to £3.4bn a year in economic gains. Mr Cameron will use the visit - which marks the start of National Apprenticeship Week - to reaffirm the government's commitment to ensure more young adults can access high quality apprenticeships. Highly-skilled workforce Estimates from Whitehall suggest more than 500,000 people started an apprenticeship between 2011 and 2012. The prime minister will say such schemes give school leavers "the chance to learn a trade to build their careers" and allows the opportunity to create "a truly world-class, highly-skilled workforce that can compete and thrive in the fierce global race we are in." He will add: "Our drive to reform and strengthen apprenticeships, raising standards and making them more rigorous... means that an apprenticeship is increasingly seen as a first choice career move. But we need to challenge ourselves to go even further, that is why I want it to be the new norm for young people to either go to university or into an apprenticeship. We need to look at how we can expand apprenticeship opportunities so that they are available to all young people who are ready and eager to take them up, and aspire to get ahead in life. Mr Cameron will suggest that Britain follows in the footsteps of Germany, where the vast majority of teenagers either go to university or into an apprenticeship when they finish their exams. His comments come as the Centre for Economics and Business Research predict that completed apprenticeships over the next 10 years could contribute up to £3.4bn a year to the UK economy through productivity gains by 2022. The government is also expected to issue a formal response to the Richard Review - which has looked at ways to improve the quality of apprenticeships - later this week.