Like many Harlow residents I have a passion for apprenticeships. I employed the first ever MP’s apprentice from Harlow – and now have a second; started an Apprentice School in Parliament; and have worked with the NUS to set up a special Apprentice Card, giving apprentices the same rights as university students.
The economy is still difficult in Harlow. But we have a good story to tell. The Conservative-led Government has helped to boost the number of Harlow apprentices by 78 per cent - in one year. This means that we now have 350 extra youngsters in jobs.
Across the country, the number of apprentices has risen to more than 450,000. An increase of more than 50 per cent on before.
Harlow is entrepreneurial, and hard-working. Youth unemployment here is lower than the East of England rate, and lower the national average – and it has been falling since 2009. This is a tribute to our schools, Harlow College (now officially the best in England), and many local employers such as Smiths Industries, AST technologies, and many more besides.
But we also have to face uncomfortable facts: across the country, youth unemployment is high. Since 2006, it has been at around 1 million. Clearly, the problem does not just start when young people reach 18 and are unable to find work – but starts much earlier.
For far too long, there has been a conveyor belt to the dole queue. In the last 10 years, half a million children left school unable to read or write. That is why the Coalition’s emphasis on pushing reading and numeracy in our schools is incredibly important. Burnt Mill school – for example – has seen a massive increase in its results on literacy and numeracy. In the last two years, its number of pupils getting five good GCSEs including Maths and English has risen from 27% to 56%: a huge leap forward. This has been achieved by opening a new IT library, stressing the importance of reading, and by supplying the children with Kindles (electronic books) – paid for by extra funding for the poorest pupils.
The new Youth Contract starting in April will also make a difference. It means that every young unemployed person in Harlow will be offered training and mentoring by special firms – if they want it.
Finally, I have been working day and night for the past 15 months with Anglia Ruskin University and Harlow College to bring a new high-tech apprentice school to Harlow. If successful, the school (known as a “University Technical College”) will offer hundreds of local young people the chance to do top-class technical training, and go straight into well-paid jobs. I am proud that we have managed to win serious support and backing from Princess Alexandra Hospital, Pearson, GSK, BUPA, and others for our bid.
We cannot be complacent about youth unemployment. But I do believe that new investment in apprenticeships; a focus on literacy and numeracy; and extra training and mentoring will make a huge difference – not just in Harlow but across the country as a whole.
You can also read this blog in the Harlow Star HERE.
The economy is still difficult in Harlow. But we have a good story to tell. The Conservative-led Government has helped to boost the number of Harlow apprentices by 78 per cent - in one year. This means that we now have 350 extra youngsters in jobs.
Across the country, the number of apprentices has risen to more than 450,000. An increase of more than 50 per cent on before.
Harlow is entrepreneurial, and hard-working. Youth unemployment here is lower than the East of England rate, and lower the national average – and it has been falling since 2009. This is a tribute to our schools, Harlow College (now officially the best in England), and many local employers such as Smiths Industries, AST technologies, and many more besides.
But we also have to face uncomfortable facts: across the country, youth unemployment is high. Since 2006, it has been at around 1 million. Clearly, the problem does not just start when young people reach 18 and are unable to find work – but starts much earlier.
For far too long, there has been a conveyor belt to the dole queue. In the last 10 years, half a million children left school unable to read or write. That is why the Coalition’s emphasis on pushing reading and numeracy in our schools is incredibly important. Burnt Mill school – for example – has seen a massive increase in its results on literacy and numeracy. In the last two years, its number of pupils getting five good GCSEs including Maths and English has risen from 27% to 56%: a huge leap forward. This has been achieved by opening a new IT library, stressing the importance of reading, and by supplying the children with Kindles (electronic books) – paid for by extra funding for the poorest pupils.
The new Youth Contract starting in April will also make a difference. It means that every young unemployed person in Harlow will be offered training and mentoring by special firms – if they want it.
Finally, I have been working day and night for the past 15 months with Anglia Ruskin University and Harlow College to bring a new high-tech apprentice school to Harlow. If successful, the school (known as a “University Technical College”) will offer hundreds of local young people the chance to do top-class technical training, and go straight into well-paid jobs. I am proud that we have managed to win serious support and backing from Princess Alexandra Hospital, Pearson, GSK, BUPA, and others for our bid.
We cannot be complacent about youth unemployment. But I do believe that new investment in apprenticeships; a focus on literacy and numeracy; and extra training and mentoring will make a huge difference – not just in Harlow but across the country as a whole.
You can also read this blog in the Harlow Star HERE.
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