Nearly a million young people in Britain - one in eight- are out of education, employment or training.
A whole generation of kids here in Ipswich and beyond, let down by a Conservative government who, instead of investing in the future of towns like ours - in our education system, in vocational training, in helping people into work - frantically scrambled for sticking plasters and easy answers.
Our Labour government was elected on a platform of change. That change had to include the reversal of the terrible damage the Conservatives did to a whole generation of vocational training, and consequently, the prospects of so many young people.
The first set of statistics since the General Election, encouragingly, saw an increase in apprenticeship starts, participation, and achievement compared to the same period the year before.
As positive as this news is, our Government knows this is far from being a case of ‘job done’. Indeed, if we are going to deliver the 1.5 million homes our country desperately needs, or build crucial infrastructure projects like Sizewell C, we need to close the skills gap. That is why the Prime Minister announced a huge £600 million investment to train 60,000 people for careers in trades like bricklaying, engineering and carpentry.
We want to build after years of dither and delay. We want to give the next generation the skills they need to secure after years of disinterest. We want to create secure, skilled, well-paid employment after suffering from years of a low-wage, flatlining economy.
This is not just a national initiative, either. Last Autumn, I negotiated and signed an agreement with Sizewell C which, alongside guaranteeing 500 jobs for Ipswich residents, expands partnerships with our local colleges and university, and helps jobseekers into work too, too.
The deal also includes the investment into a local Welding Centre of Excellence, the development an Electrical Engineering Centre of Excellence, and looking to establish a Regional Construction Skills Roadshow.
I achieved this agreement just three months into my tenure, and the pace that the Government is looking to reverse more than a decade’s worth of neglect underlines how critical an issue it is to us.
Many of you will have seen the Prime Minister announcement new immigration reforms after net migration skyrocketed to nearly a million people in 2023 under the Conservatives, and the questions of skills should not be discounted as a major contributing factor.
Bluntly, instead of investing in towns like ours, snake oil salesmen who famously pledged to ‘Take Back Control’ instead reached for a cocktail of flawed quick fixes.
Hard graft gave way to gimmicks. In vast swathes of the economy, the numbers of work VISAs shot up, while the number of apprenticeships dwindled and the skills gap widened.
Instead of investing in homegrown talent - in the thousands of kids here in Ipswich’s schools, colleges and university - companies were incentivised to look abroad before they looked locally.
Immigration can benefit our economy. For generations, immigrants and immigration have brought so much to our town, not just economically, but socially, too.
I want Ipswich and Britain to attract the very best global talent. The division and isolationism that some politicians preach - lurching from one extreme to another - will only hurt us. There is a better way.
People want an immigration system that is controlled, selective, and fair, and I want to ensure that we give young people the tools they need so they can fulfil their aspirations. That is what our Labour government is set on delivering as we build a new future for our town and country.
Jack Abbott is Labour MP for Ipswich
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