Read Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner's latest column for the Tameside Reporter in what is National Apprenticeships Week.

During my time as Shadow Education Secretary, I made no secret of my ambition to create an all encompassing system to make learning available to people of all ages.

Allowing and encouraging everyone to access learning benefits society as a whole and that’s why I am proud of Labour’s plan to boost skills and training and drive economic growth during National Apprenticeships Week.

New data shows that apprenticeships and training opportunities have declined over the past decade leaving the country unprepared for the future.

In my constituency, apprenticeship starts have plummeted by 44 per cent between 2011/12 and 2021/22, falling from 1,350 to just 750.

It’s a similar story across the North West. In 2011/12, 89,310 people started an apprenticeship. By 2021/22, this fell to 50,370.

The Tories have failed to equip individuals and the economy with the skills to meet our national challenges including transition to net zero and rising demand for digital skills.

To reverse this downwards trend, Labour will give businesses the flexibility they’re asking for to train their workforce and deliver growth.

We will start by turning the Tories’ failed apprenticeships levy into a ‘Growth and Skills Levy’.

The Conservatives’ levy has seen millions of pounds that should be used for skills training going unspent, even as businesses report growing skills shortages.

Giving businesses flexibility would ensure this money could be best on a greater range of training courses including basic English, maths and digital skills, so businesses can fill skills gaps and people can gain new skills to progress at work.

As part of a wider package of reform, Labour will establish a new taskforce, Skills England, to drive forward a national mission to deliver the skills needs of the next decade. This will be driven by pushing power and decisions on skills spending out from Westminster to local communities, so those communities can better match up skills training with their local business needs and grow local and regional economies.

Young people and adults in Ashton, Droylsden and Failsworth are ambitious for their families’ futures and want to learn new skills to get new jobs, or progress at work but they are being let down, unable to find training opportunities.

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