Chloe SmithMP for Norwich North
Chloe SmithChloe Smith, Member of Parliament for Norwich North has on Friday 9th March visited award winning apprenticeship employer to hear first-hand the benefits to both employer and young person of apprenticeships.
Chloe visited ATB Laurence Scott, winners of City College Norwich’s Apprenticeship Employer of the Year Award for 2018 to meet with employers and current & former apprentices to learn more about their apprenticeship programme and the benefits to both employer & apprentice.
Since 2010, in Norwich alone over 10,000 young people have started an apprenticeship and have been given the opportunity to earn and learn at the same time. Chloe has used this year’s National Apprenticeship Week to calls on employers to explore how an apprentice can benefit their business.
As founder and Chair of the Norwich For Jobs Project, Chloe has consistently called on local employers to give young people a chance to become a step closer to getting a job. Hundreds of employers have risen to the challenge and offered their support in a variety of ways, including through job opportunities, apprenticeships, work experience programmes and mentoring.
Norwich For Jobs supports young people become job-ready and helps employers to plug the skills gaps they are facing. Apprenticeships are often a means to help a young person enter a career that is right for them whilst allowing an employer to train a young person in the skills their business needs.
Chloe was encouraged by the feedback from her visit to ATB Laurence Scott, who felt that apprentices were hard-working and loyal, as well as hearing how the apprentices enjoyed the security of knowing that there was an employment opportunity at the end of their apprenticeship.
Chloe comments: “Firms like ATB Laurence Scott who invest in their apprenticeship programme offer great opportunities to young people who want to earn and learn at the same time. Apprenticeships benefit employers and young people equally, allowing employers to find talent, whilst offering young people a direct route into work.
“I would urge employers large and small to explore apprenticeship options. It is often too easy to see statistics and forget that each of those is chance for a young person to follow their career dreams. This National Apprenticeship Week I am calling on employers to look beyond the statistics and explore how taking on an apprentice can benefit their business- Norwich For Jobs stands ready to help!”
Chloe meets apprentice Nathan Dickerson with ATB Laurence Scott Technical Director, David Harvey.