100 Apprentices in…50 days!

Staff and apprentices of Kids Allowed on Buxton Road, with local Lib Dem councillors Daniel Hawthorne and Patrick McAuley
Staff and apprentices of Kids Allowed on Buxton Road, with local Lib Dem councillors Daniel Hawthorne and Patrick McAuley

100 apprentices in 100 days – that was the challenge taken on as part of a summer campaign by Stockport Council and the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS).

But this number was reached within JUST 50 days! The Council and NAS will continue to run the campaign until the end of the
100 days to see what figure can be achieved.

Cllr Daniel Hawthorne commented: “I am delighted to see another 100 local young people starting their training and learning skills. This ground breaking initiative will help our young people gain confidence and get their first experience of work, whilst local employers will benefit from apprentices’ new ideas and hard work.”

The Liberal Democrats launched a national ‘A Million Jobs for a Stronger Economy’ campaign this summer highlighting the successes the Liberal Democrats have had in helping to create more than a million private sector jobs since coming into Government and our determination to help create a million more.

The first phase of the campaign is a major apprenticeships drive. The party’s ambition is to double the number of companies offering apprenticeships from 100,000 to 200,000.

See more about the Liberal Democrats job campaign on www.amillionjobs.org.

Vince Cable backs Stockport’s 100 Apprentices in 100 Days Campaign

Vince Cable Backing Stockport Apprenticeships
Vince Cable Backing Stockport Apprenticeships

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable visited Stockport to support the Council’s new ‘100:100’ Apprenticeship scheme.

The Council, in partnership with the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), launched the scheme to encourage Stockport employers to take on 100 apprentices in 100 days.

Mr Cable was visiting the site of a Kids Allowed centre to be opened on Buxton Road in September. Kids Allowed is a childcare provider with its own Apprenticeship Academy employing 35 apprentices across Greater Manchester and Cheshire. Kids Allowed will be creating eight apprenticeships in Stockport during the 100 apprenticeship ‘window.

Councillor Shan Alexander, Executive Member for Lifelong Learning and Achievement at Stockport Council, said: “Following the great success of our 50:50 Apprenticeship Grant Schemes in recent years, Stockport Council has launched a 100 Apprenticeships in 100 Days scheme with the NAS. This ground breaking initiative will help young people in the borough gain confidence and get their first experience of working for a local organisation which in turn will boost the local economy.”

Wage War on Wonga

Vince Cable Backing Stockport Apprenticeships
Vince Cable Backing Stockport Apprenticeships

Liberal Democrat Vince Cable used a visit to a Stockport credit union to back the Archbishop of Canterbury’s plans to put payday lenders, such as Wonga, out of business through the use of Credit Unions.

Cable said “There is a big opportunity for Credit Unions to grow and support their local communities and their local businesses, too. It has been good to come and see at first-hand how Stockport Credit Union has developed so far, and I certainly wish it well in its plans for expanding its work.”

Lisa Smart, a volunteer at Stockport Credit Union, said “Volunteering at the credit union is great fun and worthwhile too. Giving people access to savings and low-cost loans across Stockport says very clearly “Loan sharks are not welcome here!”

Click here for a link to the Stockport Credit Union or you can ring them on 0161 430 5808 or email them at mail@stockportcu.com.

Summer Campaign – 100 Apprentices in 100 Days

Lib Dem policies at local and national level and led to a 60% increase in Stockport apprenticeships
Lib Dem policies at local and national level and led to a 60% increase in Stockport apprenticeships

Stockport Council has joined forces with some of the borough’s key employers to take on the challenge of securing 100 Stockport apprentices in 100 days.

Although Stockport’s JSA claimant rate continues to decrease month by month and is below the North West average, getting more young people into employment is a top priority for the Lib Dems at the council and in government.

Apprenticeships are a powerful and vital tool in achieving this. Stockport Council has an award-winning track record on creating apprenticeships and Cllr Sue Derbyshire, council leader, is working hard to promote the 100-in-100 campaign.

Stockport is currently the 3rd best Borough in the North West for apprenticeships. 2011/12 saw over 3,000 apprenticeship start-ups in Stockport. An increase of nearly 1,500 compared to the previous Labour government.

Unemployment falls again in Stockport

Lib Dem policies Stockport
Lib Dem policies at local and national level have led to a 60% increase in Stockport apprenticeships

Unemployment figures out this week show another fall in unemployment in Stockport.

Stockport’s unemployment rate is now down to 3.3%.  This compares favourably with the overall 4.8% figure for Greater Manchester, the 4.3% figure for the North West and the 3.8% figure for the whole of the UK.

Significantly, youth unemployment is also down.  The JSA claimant rate for 16-24 years olds was down 3.9% and the 18-24 age group down 4.2%.  The results are good news for Stockport’s apprenticeship work, in conjunction with the Lib Dem policy pushed in government to boost apprentice numbers.

The results of this work mean that 6,290 new apprenticeships have been created in Stockport since 2010, a 60% rise on the apprenticeships created in Stockport under the last government.