PD Ports and MP Anna Turley lead conference event

Nationally, one in eight young people are not in education, employment or training, and it is estimated that the number is even higher in parts of the Tees Valley. At a Labour conference fringe event hosted by the region’s largest private employer, PD Ports, and supported by Labour’s MP for Redcar and Cleveland, Anna Turley, attendees spoke passionately about the challenges facing many of the region’s young people.

These included too few opportunities to gain work experience, lack of entry-level jobs, and poor visibility of job vacancies in small- to medium-sized businesses, which form the majority of Tees Valley employers.

The failure of skills policy to build a strong bridge between education and employment was also highlighted. One example is the Apprenticeship Levy, which was intended to grow apprenticeship numbers but has sadly halved them, with the drop being felt most sharply amongst small- to medium-sized companies who find the current system too bureaucratic and burdensome.

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Comparisons were made with countries such as Germany, France and Norway where higher levels of funding are available to help employers recruit apprentices.

Suggestions to help Government to achieve its pledge to reduce the number of 18- to 21-year-olds who are not “learning or earning”, included:

• Enable funding to help businesses increase the number of entry-level jobs for young people as part of an urgent reform of the Apprenticeship Levy.
• Remove disincentives to work by making sure 16- to 19-year-olds’ income does not affect households’ entitlement to benefits.
• Improve accessibility to employment and training by providing free travel for 16- to 19-year-olds from low-income households.
• Focus on promoting careers and employment in primary schools as well as later stages of education.
• Develop new initiatives to increase the visibility of job opportunities in small and medium sized companies.

Speaking after the event, PD Ports Executive Chairman, Jerry Hopkinson, said, “PD Ports is committed to introducing 3,000 young people to careers in maritime by 2030.

“As the UK’s leading ports operator for supporting young people, our event at the Labour Party conference builds on that commitment. The huge wealth of experience represented at the event offered invaluable insights and ideas about how the Government can help more young people to achieve their aspirations, both in the Tees Valley and beyond.

“We really hope that the event will provide a strong foundation for making a positive difference to the communities we are part of.”

Anna Turley MP said, “It was fantastic to bring together people working on the frontline of education and training in our region and to learn more about the challenges they face, day-in, day-out.

“I am sure that the ideas raised at the event can help national and local government and the private sector work together to find new and better ways to transform the lives of young people in areas like the Tees Valley.

“I will be sharing these ideas with my colleagues in Government and to invite them to visit our region to see how we can turn those ideas into action.”

Present at the fringe event were:

• Anna Turley, Labour MP for Redcar and Cleveland
• Jerry Hopkinson, Executive Chairman, PD Ports 
• Kirsten Donkin, Head of Communications, PD Ports 
• Grant Glendinning, CEO, Education Training Collective 
• Claire Preston, Operations Director, Power of Women
• Zoe Lewis, CEO, Middlesbrough College
• Lauren Bywater, General Manager, High Tide Foundation  
• Emma Gregory, UK Government Affairs, The Prince’s Trust 
• Jacqui Hutchinson, Education, Employment and Skills Lead and Primary Careers Co-ordinator (Building our Futures) for Redcar and Cleveland Voluntary Development Agency
• Richard Ballantyne, CEO, British Ports Association