National Apprenticeship Week

One of the Prime Minister’s ambitions is for 2/3 of young people to be in higher or further education or in an apprenticeship. And apprenticeships are traditionally the best way for young people to access and learn new skills while also earning a wage.

Education should lead us to decent and rewarding jobs. The Government is backing apprenticeships with funding for training and I am working with Government to see how we can put more into them from the Apprenticeship Levy – particularly hospitality jobs. Hopefully, the new Youth Guarantee will help young people in Cornwall who are struggling out of work and education.

Significant investment is being made to support young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET):

• Those who are between 16 and 24 on Universal Credit will be able to access thousands of new training or workplace opportunities in all sorts of sectors, including construction, health and social care and hospitality.

• Youth Hubs will be expanded to every local area.

• A new Youth Guarantee Gateway will give dedicated sessions and support to almost 900,000 young people on Universal Credit.

  
  

For National Apprenticeship week I visited the Cornwall Apprenticeship Awards, where so many young people had overcome personal challenges, gained new skills and moved on in their lives and also gained huge amounts of confidence. I also met apprentices from Pendennis Shipyard who were helping do up Falmouth Primary School’s new breakfast club building.