Gordon Birtwistle & Burnley Liberal Democrats

Posts Tagged ‘Apprenticeships’

Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley & Padiham, Gordon Birtwistle has welcomed the announcement in yesterdays Spending Review that the national Apprenticeship scheme is to be expanded.

Spending on adult apprenticeships will be boosted by £250 million by 2014-15 providing an extra 75,000 apprenticeship places. The move has been welcomed by groups like the Federation for Small Businesses.

Commenting on the announcement, Gordon said
“I am delighted by this expanded commitment by the coalition government to the apprenticeship program. This will reverse the slide we have seen in apprenticeships over the last 20 years. We need skilled workers to help boost the economy and apprenticeships will help train people for these vital jobs”

Gordon Birtwistle, newly elected Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley continued to press the Government about apprenticeships during a debate on ‘Building a High Skilled Economy’.

Drawing on his experience as an engineering apprentice 50 years ago, and as leader of Burnley Council in trying to attract high-skill jobs to Burnley, Gordon highlighted the need to invest in new developments and in the people to deliver them.

Following the debate he said, “The last Government had this idea that over 50% of young people should go to university, this has meant that there is now a dearth of well qualified young people who have been trained through apprenticeships for hands on jobs such as manufacturing. Quite often big jobs are sent abroad as we can’t supply enough skilled labourers, I want to see apprenticeships and vocational college courses become as highly regarded as the top university degrees and think that the young people of Burnley deserve the opportunity to have plenty of options to chose from when leaving school.’

Gordon Birtwistle has also been speaking to newly appointed Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable about the apprenticeships scheme and is due to meet the Apprenticeship Director of the Business & Skills Department at the end of the month to discuss how the apprenticeships will be delivered in Burnley.