Labour  Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest, Dr Matt Lamb, has today called  on the Tory-led Government to do more to increase apprenticeship opportunities for young people after visiting Kidderminster College.

The latest unemployment statistics show that across the country more than 900,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 are now out of work.

The visit took place as part of National Careers Week and National Apprenticeship Week, set up by the Labour Government in 2008 as part of its commitment to apprenticeships which saw the number of apprenticeship starts rise dramatically from 65,000 in 1996/97 to just under 280,000 in 2009/10.

Speaking after the visit, Dr Matt Lamb, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest, said:

“It was great to visit Kidderminster College where I studied back in the 1990s to meet students as part of National Careers Week and National Apprenticeship Week. Kidderminster College does a huge amount of work with the young people of Wyre Forest including the delivery of apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are a viable option for young people in our area, and a clear legacy of Labour’s commitment to the programme during our time in office.

“But with over 900,000 young people out of work, the Government needs to do more to help firms create the apprenticeship opportunities young people desperately need. 

“A One Nation Labour Government will put this right.  Building on the work of our independent Skills Taskforce we will create a new universal standard for apprenticeships so that they are qualifications that employers and young people can trust.  And we’ve also called on the Government to use the money which it already spends on public procurement to create thousands of new apprenticeship opportunities.”

 Dr Matt Lamb Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest

NOTES

• 2014 marks the sixth annual Apprenticeship Week – it was first launched in 2008 by the then Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills John Denham. It is running between 3^rd and  7^th March this year
• Labour’s Skills Taskforce, led by Chris Husbands, reported on how we can increase the number of high-quality apprenticeships in the UK by setting up a ‘something for something’ deal with employers. This will give employers more control over apprenticeship design and skills funding -; in return for more apprenticeships. The report can be found here: http://www.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Skills_taskforce_-_apprenticeships.pdf