MP marks National Apprenticeship Week by hosting conference meeting on supporting young people into the world of work.
Fiona Bruce MP, who is supporting National Apprenticeship Week (6th – 10th February), recently held a meeting at her Riverside Office in Congleton which brought together the Head Teachers of Congleton and Eaton Bank High Schools with local business leaders and some of Cheshire’s biggest employers, as well as representatives of the many small businesses in the area.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss how schools and local businesses could support young people into the world of work by building stronger relationships between them.
The Head of Congleton High School, David Hermitt, set out his vision for the future by saying at the meeting that he wanted every one of his pupils, who do not go to university or college ‘to have a local employment opportunity’.
The Head of Eaton Bank High School, Ann Webb, reinforced Mr Hermitt’s comments and said they were both extremely fortunate to work in a ‘very supportive, stable and aspirational community’.
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The Local Authority, Cheshire East Council, has also been hugely supportive of Apprenticeships through its highly successful A-Team initiative. The scheme, which was only created 18 months ago, now has 100 Apprentices across all Council services and locations exploring new collaborations.
The meeting heard from Sue Price, North West Director of the National Apprenticeship Service that there were framework and qualifications in place for over 200 employment opportunities. She spoke of the Government’s commitment to Apprenticeships having invested a £1.4 billion in Apprenticeship training and that this policy was a key priority in assisting 16-24 year olds.
Fiona Bruce MP said:
“We are extremely fortunate in Congleton to have excellent initiatives such as the Beartown Apprenticeship Scheme, pioneered by Plus Dane and supported by the Chamber of Commerce, which provides a local route for smaller employers to work together to jointly employ an Apprentice – and helps employers select, interview and recruit an appropriate candidate for their businesses’.
‘The wealth of expertise and the willingness of people in and around Congleton to help in offering exciting opportunities for our young people and assisting them into the world of work is extremely important. I will continue to work hard to support interested parties and that is why it is so important to highlight National Apprenticeship Week.
“Research confirms that 80% of people believe their workplace is more productive because of an Apprentice; Apprentices remain extremely loyal, they often stay will a company for life and become future managers. It is also known that over their career, an Apprentice can expect to earn an additional £65,000 - £105,000 above someone who has not done an Apprenticeship.
Fiona will be attending Bentley’s Annual Open Meeting for aspiring Apprentices on Saturday 25th February and the National Apprenticeship Service Parliamentary Reception to once again reaffirm her support for their work and to listen to the Skills Minister, John Hayes MP, and see what further steps, like the ‘New Era of Apprenticeships’ campaign, the Government will be taking to support Apprenticeships’.
Speaking in Parliament, this week, Fiona said:
“I hope that Apprenticeship Week will further encourage businesses across the Congleton Constituency to consider offering opportunities to our young people. Through the excellent and streamlined partnership working on Apprenticeships in Congleton between schools, businesses, the Council, Chamber of Commerce and Plus Dane – real endeavours are being made to help every one of our young people to achieve their full potential’.
Fiona continued:
‘Today’ s high quality Apprenticeships are a respected route of choice towards building a career-a valid alternative to academia and an equally important –indeed, essential, contribution to our nation’s wellbeing, both socially and economically. This week’s announcement that there were 450,200 Apprenticeship starts last year- up by 90% on the year before, confirms that across the country and in all employment sectors, employers are increasingly recognising the value to their businesses of taking on an Apprentice .This is particularly so for small businesses with real financial support from Government now available for those taking on an Apprentice for the first time. What is also particularly striking is the growth in Apprenticeship schemes leading to a degree- there are currently around 2,200 Higher Level Apprentices , which constitutes a recent tenfold increase; the Government aims to support an even greater increase in this to 25,000 Higher Level Apprenticeships over the next three years- so the sky really is the limit for young people who choose the Apprenticeship route to develop their skills , broaden their future career opportunities and fulfil their life potential’.
