National Apprenticeships Week: backing local skills to bring industries back to Oldham

It’s National Apprenticeships Week, a chance to celebrate a route into work that changes lives.

I was proud to be an apprentice, leaving school at 16, I trained at Oldham College and learned on the job from people with decades of experience. It opened doors for me – and I know it can do the same for the next generation. I’m prouder still my two sons have followed the same path on leaving school.

1,600 people in Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton were in apprenticeships last year, and it represents a significant opportunity learn, earn and thrive.

That’s why Labour is getting on with breaking down barriers. Over-19s no longer need Level 2 English and maths to complete an apprenticeship – opening up opportunities for 10,000 more people every year, and it means those who have previously been locked out will now have this vital route to a career opened up.

Apprenticeships build real skills, lead to good jobs, and help close our national skills gap. They’re a proper alternative to the academic route and we should treat them that way.

That’s why we are putting the academic route on a level playing field to the technical route with a new target for government: 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 after leaving school.

But we need much more urgent reform. I wrote previously on the mismatch between apprentice vacancies being advertised and the school leaving timetable for young people.

Figures from the Department for Education’s Find an Apprenticeship service set this out clearly. In 2024 there were 99,380 apprenticeship vacancies advertised in England. Of these, only around 16 % (15,880) were advertised as young people were finishing their exams through to the summer half-term, between July (8,610) and August (7,270). The highest number of monthly vacancies were advertised in January (10,480) and February (11,320) – six months after young people had sat exams and left school.

Work to transform technical education isn’t just national. Mayor Andy Burnham is leading the way in our city-region with the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, creating two equal routes at 14 – one academic and one technical.

I’ll keep championing vocational pathways because every young person deserves a fair shot, whatever route they choose, and it is the way to boost local economic growth and drive-up living standards.