Today there are 171,000 more people in work across The East Midlands and in my constituency of Derby North the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit has fallen by 1,731– a 67 per cent drop – since 2010.
With the level of unemployed at the lowest level in a decade and the proportion of 16-24 year olds who have left full-time education and are unemployed has never been lower, the figures show that the number of people in work remains at record levels.
We need to keep this going!
I continue to meet regularly with some of Derby’s largest employers to discuss what more can be done to ensure that there is a continuous supply of skilled and qualified workers within our city to meet the demands of jobs they can offer. Engineering and manufacturing are major sectors in our city and we must maintain a supply of skilled workers to give local jobs to local people. I believe we must encourage more young people to get involved in STEM (Science, Technology. Engineering and Mathematics), subjects that will provide key qualifications to suite many of the jobs on offer in Derby.
I have also visited all the schools within my constituency and held discussion with teachers to discuss what we can do to improve the prospects of those leaving full-time education. The jobs market is now more competitive than ever before and we must be preparing the younger generation with the best possible education, training and skills so they are ready when they leave school or high education.
Apprenticeships are a fantastic way of giving individuals vital experience in a specific industry and earlier this year I held an apprenticeship event in Parliament specific to the construction industry. It was attended by the Minister for Apprenticeships, Housing Minister and young building apprentices from Derby.
Looking forward, I plan on hosting a jobs fair in the not to distance future so pleased do look out for updates on this on my Facebook page and website.
