Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced plans to raise the level of skills among workers and jobseekers.

Brown told an audience of business leaders in London that unemployed people would be required to obtain the skills they need or face sanctions.

Brown said: "Every unemployed person should have a skills check to make sure that Britain raises its skills game to world-class. Today's unskilled young person is at risk of being unemployable tomorrow unless they acquire a skill.'' Under the proposals people refusing to take the test or training opportunities, would lose benefits for up to 26 weeks.

New Work and Pensions Secretary, James Purnell, told the audience: "There will be a special category for people on incapacity benefit who cannot work, but for the rest, we will require them to look for work.

"There should be no free-riding on the welfare state," he added.

Brown also announced that the government aimed to increase the number of apprenticeships by 90,000 over the next five years, bringing the number on such training schemes up to 222,000 each year.