Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield and Shadow Minister for FE and Skills, has visited HIT Training to meet learners and staff at their Chesterfield Chef Academy.

In a meeting facilitated by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), Mr Perkins heard from hospitality apprentices who discussed their experiences with the Chesterfield MP. The visit also meant AELP and HIT Training were able to discuss some of the key issues facing the skills and employability sector. This included the need to increase the number of young people taking on an apprenticeship, as well as increasing entry level starts. Reducing the barriers for small and medium sized employers taking on apprentices and properly funding functional skills training were also raised.

HIT Training is the leading specialist training and apprenticeship provider for the UK’s hospitality and catering industry. They are an award-winning provider, operating across the country.

Toby Perkins is the MP for Chesterfield and was first elected in May 2010. He has served in a number of frontbench roles for the Labour Party, and is currently the Shadow Minister for FE and Skills.

Sophie Olver, National Operations Manager at HIT Training, said:

“We are delighted that Toby Perkins was able to visit our Chesterfield Chef Academy. This was a brilliant opportunity to show our local MP the fantastic work we do providing face to face training for apprentices in the area, as well as raise some of the key issues impacting apprenticeship delivery in the sector at present. A big thank you to Toby for taking the time to meet with our learners and staff and hear their experiences first-hand.”

Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield and Shadow Minister for FE and Skills, commented:

“I would like to thank AELP for inviting me to visit HIT Training’s Chef Academy in Chesterfield. As a passionate advocate of apprenticeships and their ability to unlock opportunities for all, it was truly inspiring to hear how the apprentices were developing their skills to benefit the hospitality industry in my local area. I’m looking forward to working closely with both HIT Training and AELP to ensure more people can benefit from this type of high-quality skills provision in the future.”

Rebecca Durber, AELP’s Director of Public Affairs, said:

“There are big challenges ahead for the skills sector and it was great to hear that Toby Perkins wants to help us with number of issues – including unlocking more opportunities for entry-level and younger apprentices, making it easier for smaller employers to navigate the system and improving functional skills funding and policy. We will continue to work closely with Toby in his role as Shadow FE and Skills Minister as the Labour Party develops its policies ahead of the next General Election.”