Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins, who serves as Shadow Further Education and Skills Minister in the Labour frontbench team, renewed his call for Ministers to create more apprenticeship opportunities to train up the next generation.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out Labour’s five-point plan in Bury this week:

• An Industrial Britain: One fit for the 21st century, with a strong local and regional voice, built on an ethos of cooperation across the public and private sectors, creating prosperity across our everyday economy and mobilising around the great challenges of our time.
• A Learning Britain: Ensuring no young person leaves education without the skills they need to thrive in a modern economy; and delivering on Labour’s plan to create new apprenticeship opportunities, which would have seen 100,000 more apprenticeships available to young people this year.
• An Investing Britain: Labour will ensure the jobs and industries are based in Britain through its’ £28 billion Climate Investment Pledge.
• An Innovative Britain: Labour will level up on R&D, directly supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs through a target to help create 100,000 new businesses over the next five years with a particular focus outside London and the South East. A Labour government will create the conditions for new, innovative businesses to start, grow and thrive; and support small and medium sized businesses to gain access to information, technology and investment so they are not frozen out.
• A Trading Britain: Labour’s plan to Buy, Make and Sell more in Britain will help us lead the pack globally and create the high paid, high skilled jobs of the future we need. The party will stand up for British businesses and British workers in the face of global giants, restore visa-free touring for musicians, secure veterinary agreements to relieve the challenges facing our food and drink industry at the border, and negotiate a deal to ensure mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

Toby stated “Labour have proposed creating 100,000 new apprenticeships this year, to train up the next generation and ensure businesses can tackle skills shortages. I’m pleased that, as part of our Shadow Ministerial Team, we’re setting out how a future Labour government would make a real difference to the people of this country”.