Please click here to view David Lammy's speech.
Yesterday, David Lammy, alongside Baroness Morris of Yardley and Gordon Marsden MP, Chair of Associate All Party Skills Group, hosted a reception for members of both Houses of Parliament, leading businesses, skills stakeholders, and apprentices. The event was designed to promote the merit and role of apprenticeships.
Skills Minister David Lammy reiterated the Government’s commitment to expand the Apprenticeship programme in the next five years: “We believe passionately in the merits of apprenticeships. It is our ambition that one in five school leavers takes on an apprenticeship by 2013 and that there is an apprenticeship available to everyone who wants it.”
David said that much had been achieved in recent years with completion rates rising and a range of apprenticeships available now beyond the traditional sectors. He added: “For employers its not just about helping young people - and adults. Apprenticeships are also good for your business and for UK plc. You get loyalty and bespoke employers trained up to meet the needs of your business.”
David was joined by John Hayes MP and Michael Martin, Speaker of the House of Commons who where both on hand to lend cross-party support.
Speaker of the House, Michael Martin, who is a former apprentice himself, spoke passionately of the benefits of apprenticeships - to the young people embarking on such programmes, to their employers and to the country. He said: “It is a good thing to work with your hands. Too much is made about university which I don’t decry but I would say there is also a place for bright people to be apprentices and craftsmen.”
Speaking of his own experiences as an apprentice sheet-metal worker in Glasgow, Mr Martin said it did’t just teach him the skills of the trade but taught him about life, and how to build relationships with other people. He said: “There are many things I put into practice as a politician which I learnt on the factory floor.”
Baroness Morris of Yardley, who was formally hosting the event, commented that there are not many issues which everyone backs but the Apprenticeship programme is something everyone seems to get behind.
John Hayes, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education, was also there to lend his support. He echoed the sentiments of the Speaker of the House, saying that apprenticeships offered much more than just the acquisition of skills. “Apprenticeships test real competencies but add value in all kinds of other ways. People mature through apprentices and we should never under estimate the value it adds to human capital. An advanced economy needs advanced skills and we need many more people with skills to compete globally.”
Paul McLaren, in his third year of an apprenticeship with BAE Systems said that it was an environment in which to thrive and improve his knowledge and experience. “Despite spending two to three hours commuting to work each day, I consider it a small sacrifice to pay.”
The evening did much to raise the awareness of apprenticeships in Westminster - including pairing MPs with apprentices in their area and the businesses which employ them as well as providing more information about how they can get involved in boosting the number of apprenticeships.
David Lammy added:
"This event was about putting apprenticeships properly on the political map - where they belong. Out there in the country, one of the things people often say to me, is when are you going to bring back the apprenticeship? Tonight in Westminster we have clearly shown not only are they back, but they are now back where they belong, at the centre of the Government's desire to improve skills and boost UK Plc."
Please click here to see more images of the event.
Please see below David Lammy, Minister for Skills' speech from the event.
