Westminster Life: National Apprenticeship Week
This week is National Apprenticeship Week, a moment each year when we shine a light on the young people and career changers who are learning on the job, and on the employers backing them, writes Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes.
Apprenticeships have been a passion of mine for many years. My brother went the apprenticeship route, and he went on to help fix the roof on Peterborough Cathedral. I have seen first-hand how apprenticeships open doors to well‑paid, skilled work for people who might not otherwise get a look‑in. For too long they have been seen as second best to university, yet in a city built on engineering, manufacturing and logistics, apprenticeships are central to our future.
Across the city, from engineering to accountancy and law, employers tell me that apprentices are the lifeblood of their companies, bringing fresh ideas and helping them grow. But while some parts of the system work, it’s clear some things must change. We must make the system more flexible, cut the stigma, and ensure every young person hears about apprenticeships as a positive option, not a last resort.
Since being elected I have made it my mission to put Peterborough at the front of the queue for new opportunities, which is why I am so proud that National Gas has chosen our city for its new East of England headquarters as part of an £870 million investment that will create 250 new jobs, safeguard a further 300 and open up apprenticeships, graduate schemes and skilled roles in clean energy. I joined Industry Minister Chris McDonald and National Gas to open the new regional office and visit the Peterborough Compressor Station, these are exactly the opportunities we need in this city, and I know how life‑changing they can be. But it must be local people who see the benefit through training, long‑term careers and contracts with local firms.
That is why I am proud to have worked so hard to make Cambridgeshire and Peterborough a Youth Guarantee Trailblazer, part of Labour’s Get Britain Working plans. This programme means that every young person will be offered the chance to earn or learn, backed up locally by new six‑week paid internships for 18 to 21‑year‑olds and extra support for businesses to take on apprentices. Small and medium‑sized employers can now receive up to £5,000 in combined local and national grants when they recruit a young apprentice, creating the right incentives and helping to turn good intentions into real vacancies.
For a city with one of the highest rates of young people not in education, employment or training, this support is vital. Around 5.4 per cent of 16 and 17‑year‑olds in Peterborough are currently NEET, a figure we simply cannot accept. The Youth Guarantee, together with the wider package of skills support from the Combined Authority, is about tackling that challenge head‑on and ensuring no young person is left behind.
In National Apprenticeship Week, my promise is that I will keep fighting to make Peterborough the best place in Britain to start, or restart, your working life through an apprenticeship. We have the talent, we have the employers, and now we are winning the investment and government backing we need to match our ambitions. If you are a young person thinking about your next steps, or an employer wondering whether to take on an apprentice, now is the time to get involved.