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Opportunities for the Next Generation

I applaud that company and those apprenticeships. That is a story that is being repeated in my constituency, but it was being repeated three or four years ago as well. The myth is that the situation has been transformed overnight. We are presented with some impressive headline statistics, but close analysis suggests that we are not getting an expansion of the high-quality opportunities that our young people and the economy need. If the Government really had confidence in what they were doing, they would not have scrapped Labour's guarantee of an apprenticeship for every qualified school leaver. They have also refused to require Government contractors to provide apprenticeships. In the past, that guarantee meant that investment in social housing also involved investment in training young construction workers. The Minister for Housing and Local Government described that policy as ““ridiculous”” and ““counter-productive””, while the Minister for the Cabinet Office said that it ““wouldn't be appropriate””.