The number of people becoming an apprentice in Kent fell by more than 2,500 in the last year, according to new figures.

Nearly 12,000 young people in Kent started an apprenticeship between 2013 and 2014, down from nearly 14,500 the year before.

Although this year’s figures are only provisional, they show Medway, Thanet and Swale employed the highest number of starters in the year, at 2,500, 1,150 and 1,140 respectively.

Yet all these were down from 12 months earlier, when Medway was closer to 2,900, Thanet 1,400 and Swale 1,300.

People aged 24 and above represent the highest drop across the county, with 2,090 fewer people becoming apprentices.

It is thought this may have been triggered by the introduction of loan schemes for level three and level four apprenticeships for those aged over 24, although this was scrapped earlier this year.

Nationally the provisional figures are thought to indicate the number of new apprentices is expected to fall by about 13%.

The lowest number of apprenticeship take up was in the affluent districts of Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells, at 510 and 470, also down on previous totals.

Neither the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills or the Kent Association of Training Associations would comment on the decline as the latest figures are provisional.

The figures comes as the Government announces more than 700 employers are set to join the next phase of its trailblazers scheme, where they will design 76 new apprenticeships in professions ranging from TV production to welding.

The companies incude BAE Systems – which has a base in Rochester – and accountants PwC.

More than 1,000 employers are involved in the initiative, which has seen 11,950 young people in Kent become an apprentice in the last year.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Across the country apprenticeships are a driving force behind getting young people the skills that employers want and the economy needs.

“Our reforms have empowered businesses large and small to design and deliver world-beating apprenticeships that offer a real route to a successful career.”