Employers will get direct control of apprenticeship funding under the latest round of government reforms, skills minister Nick Boles has announced.

Ministers say they want to make the English apprenticeship system “the best in the world” and say they have created two million work placements since 2010 as well as changes to make the system work better.

Publishing his response to a public consultation on funding reform, Nick Boles said: “Last month we celebrated the start of the 2 millionth apprenticeship since 2010.

“This was an important milestone in the government’s long term economic plan. If we are going improve and expand our apprenticeship programme further we must put employers in the driving seat - and give them control of both the design and funding of apprenticeships.

He added: “I look forward to working with employer organisations and others to develop a funding model that is simple, transparent and easy for employers to use.”

The government says giving employers more control of funding means employees can get training that fits their needs. It will therefore increase the quality and relevance of training.

But after the latest consultation, the official line is that more talks will be needed before ministers will commit to saying how the new system will work in practice.