The manner in which the government is seeking to introduce apprenticeships serves only to polarise the debate, ensuring that young people are either classified as 'apprenticeship' material, or are left to join the ranks of thousands of graduates competing for the grossly limited number of entry-level jobs.
The gauntlet has been thrown down to businesses, training providers and colleges to compete for the title of apprentice team of 2013 which opens for nominations this week.
What have Del Boy and the Apprentice candidates got in common? Well, nothing, as it happens: because whereas Del Boy could have made a fortune selling broken tat to idiots, his Apprentice counterparts couldn't sell half price cracked ice and miles and miles of carpet tiles if their lives (or rather careers) depended on it.