The Department for Transport, Highways England and Network Rail, will now work with their suppliers to ensure apprenticeships are “at the heart of contracts”.

Depending on the contract, suppliers will either create one apprenticeship for every £3m to £5m of taxpayers’ money spent, or deliver a percentage increase in the number of apprentices employed each year during the lifetime of the contract.

In these cases the aim is that the number of apprenticeships created each year will equal 2.5% of the workforce, so for every 200 people employed, 5 apprenticeships will be created each year.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Our record investment in the transport system won’t just deliver new world-class infrastructure, it will create opportunity for people across the UK by guaranteeing apprenticeships through contracts.

“We are creating thousands of high quality careers across the country, many of which are cutting edge, highly technical and require Britain’s best minds.

“Our skills strategy sets out what we are doing to making these job opportunities highly desirable, so we can attract the nation’s talent and equip them with the skills to deliver on our commitment to build a world class transport infrastructure system.”

Crossrail chair and skills strategy author Terry Morgan said: “As we have seen on Crossrail, by working with our suppliers we can help young people begin long and successful careers in an exciting and nationally important sector.

“To create a workforce capable of delivering the unprecedented number of transport projects in the pipeline it is vital we increase the number of apprentices and attract more women into the industry.

“This skills strategy is a huge step in the right direction, but all of us, from parents and teachers to chief executives and industry leaders have a role to play to help the next generation grab the exciting opportunities on offer.”