Local apprenticeships in Hull and East Yorkshire will be boosted, after the region was promised a slice of £100million of extra funding. The money will allow more young people to be matched with local businesses and help drive new employment opportunities.
The scheme was announced at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, by the new Chancellor John Healey. It is expected to deliver thousands more youth apprenticeships around the country, particularly with small employers.
Hull and East Yorkshire’s Combined Authority (HEYCA) has welcomed the funding, making clear it complements the work to boost practical training opportunities already underway locally. It could help young people develop well-paid careers here.
The Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, Luke Campbell, explained it was hugely positive the Labour government is listening to what local businesses in the region really want to see. “We know our area and our businesses better than anyone, so it’s good to see the government listening to me and other mayors and putting more of this responsibility locally,” he said.
“We’re already working to connect skills much more closely to the jobs our economy needs, including in construction, engineering and manufacturing. This gives us another tool to build on those plans, helping businesses get the skilled people they need and give more young people a proper route into good, well-paid careers here.”
Mayor Campbell explained HEYCA would work through the plan in its full detail as soon as it becomes available. He added HEYCA is also working with the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce on an employer-led Local Skills Improvement Plan, so skills provision around the whole region can respond more directly to the shortages and opportunities identified by local businesses.
Speaking at the Labour party conference, John Healey described in broad terms the challenges facing regional mayors and policymakers, with a focus on how too many young people not being in education or employment. As part of the new plan, local teams will work ‘a bit like football scouts for apprenticeships’, approaching firms that have never taken on a trainee and offering support to do so, the Labour conference was told. This will help with reaching young people who have been out of work for some time.
The Chancellor said mayors were best placed to lead it locally because they know which firms are hiring, which colleges are delivering and which estates have been left behind. The funding for the scheme will come from savings within the Department for Work and Pensions.
HM Treasury confirmed the £100 million will run across two years and will extend the service to all 14 existing Mayoral Strategic Authorities with directly elected mayors from spring 2027, doubling the number of areas taking part. It builds on apprenticeship brokerage pilots announced as part of last year’s budget.
“The best thing we can offer a young person isn’t a benefit payment. It’s a first job with training and a wage,” John Healey told delegates at the conference. Maritime industries was a focus of the chancellor’s address. During his speech, John Healey introduced apprentices who have been working on the first newly built Mersey ferry in 60 years and made clear apprentices truly valued earning and learning at the same time.
By: Paul Drury-Bradey, LDRS
