This month I visited JCB – one of Britain's greatest manufacturers – to see their apprenticeship programme first-hand.
What I found was genuinely impressive. Young people earning while they’re earning and building careers they can be proud of. That's exactly the kind of opportunity every young person in this country deserves.
Which is why I find what this Labour government is doing so frustrating. They are making it harder and more expensive for businesses to do this – with higher taxes and more red tape. Meanwhile their answer is to create state-subsidised jobs after destroying the real ones created by businesses in the first place.
That’s a sticking plaster solution – yet more subsidies will not fix the problem they have created. We should be backing businesses that invest in young people, not making life harder for them.
If you’re a young person or you know one who is struggling to find a job, I want to hear from you.
Perhaps you finally have a job, but it took a long time to get here, or maybe you work part-time and can’t seem to find full-time work.
Please tell me your story by filling out my short survey here.
