A 50pc increase in the number of apprenticeships will help plug a shortfall in skills – a key issue for the East Anglian economy.
George Osborne announced a �250m investment in adult apprenticeships which will boost the number of courses offered by 75,000 a year by 2014/15.
The investment will be funded partly from savings from higher and further education budgets.
There are more than 190 different apprenticeship courses on offer nationally, offering vocational training in a broad range of areas including engineering, construction, agriculture, the arts, business, retail and care.
In recent years, increasing numbers of companies in the region have begun taking on apprentices.
They include North Walsham-based Ladbrook Engineering, which has taken on its first apprentice in 20 years.
The chancellor also confirmed employment training scheme Train 2 Gain would be scrapped and replaced with a training programme focused on small- and medium-sized businesses in the spending review.
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