I have welcomed a large number of groups of young people across the constituency to Westminster over the past seven years to ensure they are aware of the work of Parliament.
I am a strong supporter of apprenticeships for young people. Apprenticeships can give young people the opportunity to learn a valuable skill while earning at the same time. They can raise the productivity of the businesses they join and I have always been proud to support them. I am delighted that in Skipton and Ripon there were 850 apprenticeship starts in 2015/16 and during the last Parliament we saw the biggest ever increase with over two million people starting an apprenticeship.
I have over the past few years met with apprentices at Skipton Building Society both in the constituency and in Westminster. The building society is the biggest employer in my constituency and it was great to hear about the excellent scheme that they are running which allows school leavers and graduates to experience a number of roles within the company over the course of three years.
I have also been able to host an Annual School Leaders' for a number of years which allows me to get together young people from secondary schools and colleges across the constituency to answer their questions and discuss their futures.
