The importance of maintaining and increasing apprenticeships in both the public and private sectors is set to be debated in the House of Lords tomorrow (14 October).

Labour peer Lord Corbett of Castle Vale will open the debate. Other members scheduled to speak include Lord Sugar (Labour), businessman and former enterprise champion for the Labour Government who fronts the BBC television series, The Apprentice.

Other politicians involved in the debate include: Lord Layard (Labour), a member of the Economic Affairs Committee which undertook an inquiry, Apprenticeship: a Key Route to Skill, in 2007; Baroness Sharp of Guildford, Lord Taylor of Warwick, former member of the Greater London Further Education Funding Council and director of the Warwick Leadership Foundation Charity; Baroness Wall of New Barnet (Labour), consultant for the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA) and a board member of the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing; and Lord Young of Norwood Green (Labour), former president of the TUC and spokesperson for Innovation and Skills.

Baroness Wilcox will speak on behalf of the Government.