Next week is National Apprenticeship Week – a chance to celebrate the opportunities that apprenticeships provide for both employers and young people.
An apprenticeship can take you anywhere. Sir Alex Ferguson did one. As did Jamie Oliver, Karen Millen and Sir Ian McKellan. Apprenticeships provide the opportunity for individuals to develop their character, knowledge and life-skills, as well as deliver confidence so that people can reach their full potential. They also boost incomes too. On average, a Level 3 apprenticeship delivers a 16% increase in wages.
In 2010 the Prime Minister pledged that the Government would deliver 2 million apprenticeship places by 2015. Not only did we reach that target, but we beat it by creating a staggering 2.4 million new apprenticeships. In North Swindon, 4,970 people have started an apprenticeship since 2010. This really is a fantastic achievement as more people across our town are learning the skills to get on in life and do well.
We are also transforming the nature of apprenticeships. Gone are the days of short term, low quality apprenticeships. Now, we are teaching valuable skills across a variety of different sectors. We’ve got some great companies taking the lead locally. I’ve seen first-hand the excellent apprenticeship programmes at McDonald’s, and computer software company ISYS who have been recognised with a Regional Apprenticeship Award. Added to that, Network Rail is investing in apprentices locally – a perfect example of how our railway heritage is still investing in future generations.
And now we are being even more ambitious – the Government is aiming for an extra 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. We’ve made good progress so far, with almost 300,000 new apprenticeship starts in the first six months since the election.
To ensure that apprentices have the vital skills they need, we also have to ensure that they benefit from an education system that is high-quality and well-funded. That’s why we have seen per pupil funding across the country increase since 2010, and the Pupil Premium has meant that schools in Swindon have benefitted from over £30 million of funding for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
But Swindon has historically suffered from a broken national funding formula which previously meant our students received less funding than those attending similar schools in other parts of the country. My colleague Robert Buckland and I have worked with Swindon Borough Council and local headteachers to tackle this problem with Education Ministers. As a result, we secured £4.3 million last year to help bridge the funding gap and now the Education Secretary has announced a radical overhaul to school funding which will see an end to the old, unfair formula. This change will help to extend opportunity to every child in Swindon, regardless of where they come from or which school they go to.
Education is for everyone and it can take you anywhere. Having been to a school that was bottom of the league tables, I know how important opportunity is. That’s why I’m delighted we’re delivering on our pledge to make schools funding fairer, and why I’ll be backing our apprentices in Swindon next week.
