Last week, the government announced a series of standards for apprentices that will ensure a number of criteria are met, including nationally recognised relevant qualifications and at least 280 hours of guided learning per year.

It was made as part of the coalition government's plans to push apprenticeships to a level its predecessor failed to achieve.

Annual funding for adult apprenticeships will increase by up to £250m above the £398m-a-year funding it inherited from the last government in a bid to deliver 75,000 more apprenticeships at advanced level and above by 2014/15.

However, Burke told PrintWeek that the government needed to do more to ensure that young people were attracted by the manufacturing sector, or risk facing a skills gap.

He said: "Industries like print, engineering and chemicals need to be given more help to appeal to young people, they are seen as dirty messy industries. The government needs to make sure the funding is there to go in at school and careers service level and show that there is nothing wrong with manufacturing.

"Industries like print should be appealing to the brightest and the best, the government should help us to show that manufacturing isn't just for spotty 18-year-olds."

Further education, skills and lifelong learning minister John Hayes said: "Apprenticeships are at the heart of our skills strategy because they are valued by employers and sought after by learners. By enshrining these characteristics in statute we send a clear message to employers and learners that every apprenticeship is a high-quality investment in the skills they need for the future."