Government risks failing to meet its target for apprentices taking up trainee posts, a national business leader has warned ahead of an event in Bury St Edmunds.

Institute of Directors (IoD) head of policy research Seamus Nevin said a 27% fall in numbers in the last quarter of 2017 meant it could miss its target of 3m people starting apprenticeships by 2020.

Mr Nevin, who is set to host an IoD Suffolk panel debate on March 6 as National Apprenticeship Week gets under way, will be joined by Seckford Foundation director Graham Watson, Tina Walton of Willis Towers Watson, BT head of research Matt Capp, Suitcase TV’s David Atkins, and Judith Mobbs, of Suffolk County Council.

“Clearly the new system has failed to take off,” he said. “The levy can be difficult to navigate and many employers still struggle to comprehend how the system is meant to work.” Visit www.iod.com/apprenticeships