This article critically assesses the role of Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) in the development and delivery of Modern Apprenticeships (MAs). It begins by reviewing the genesis of TECs as a new form of policy delivery mechanism designed to re-create a market-led training system. It explains their role in the new policy of MAs. The discussion then focuses on two interrelated questions: can locally based employer-led agencies provide a strategic focus for identifying the economy’s intermediate skills requirements and are TECs the best basis for forging a consensus on the need for MAs? The particular position of small businesses in relation to MAs is also considered. The article concludes that there needs to be a greater role for sector organisations and a new basis for dialogue about what the aims of training policy should be. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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