The government has unveiled measures to give young people the right to an apprenticeship.
The draft Apprenticeship Bill published on Wednesday is expected to give school leavers the right to an apprenticeship place from 2013.
Ministers said that this will mean that one-in-five young people will start an apprenticeship within the next 10 years.
The bill is intended to improve the quality of the training to make apprenticeships a mainstream learning option.
It also aims to increase the number of apprenticeships in the public sector and give school leavers more information about careers.
Skills minister David Lammy said: "This bill now ensures that apprenticeships are a badge of quality, without question.
"Apprenticeships have been going from strength to strength, and over the past decade, we have more than doubled the number of young people and adults starting apprenticeships.
"But we need to go further to ensure both the number and quality of apprenticeships on offer."
Schools minister Jim Knight added: "Young people are being given more and better options than ever before post-16 and an expanded apprenticeships programme will be one of the key choices offered to them, alongside A-levels and our new diplomas.
"We want to increase the number of 16-18 apprenticeships available by 2013 and to ensure that from then every qualified school leaver is entitled to an apprenticeship place."
David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the government needed "to ensure that all firms are engaged and supported when providing apprenticeships".
"Whilst large companies have more resource to facilitate these schemes, smaller companies are often less able," he said.
