Ben Howlett, the Member of Parliament for Bath, recently spoke during the Enterprise Bill Debate to praise apprenticeships in Bath and support the Government’s proposals to cap public sector pay offs.
The Enterprise Bill contains measures which include the establishment of a Small Business Commissioner, the introduction of a target for apprentices working in the public sector and measures to help improve mobile phone signal.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Ben spoke about the importance part apprenticeships have played in turning around our economy.
He said: “To those millions of people who have delivered that growth for us, we must say thank you—in particular, I thank those in my constituency and Bath College for the work they have done—and we ought to do everything we can to deliver even more.”
He continued discussing apprenticeships, and said: “When discussing apprenticeships, we often forget the superb benefits that they give to people’s lives.
“Not only have they provided new skills; they have turned around the lives of many and given new opportunities to millions of young people in the UK.”
“In order to do that, we must ensure that all sectors of our economy deliver. The private sector has taken the lead in creating apprenticeships.
“It has seen that they are hugely beneficial not only to ending skills shortages, but to productivity growth and future profitability.
“The same must be applied to the public sector if we are to hit our target of 3 million by 2020. I therefore welcome the amendment to the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.”
After leaving the chamber, Ben commented: “Apprenticeships are key to our economy in the West of England and Bath College and other local businesses are leading the way in providing apprenticeships for Bath residents.
“It is only right that the public sector is equally active in providing these opportunities and I hope that the Enterprise Bill helps creates even more opportunities for young people in Bath who don’t think university is for them.”
