Nicky Morgan marked National Apprenticeship Week by visiting Mulberry Square on Friday 15 March. Mulberry Square is a marketing company in Mountsorrel who have 5 apprentices working across their business in areas such as management, analysis, web design and customer services.
Nicky also spoke about the importance of apprenticeships at a breakfast organised by Loughborough College and IMPACT Apprentices, held to encourage more local businesses and organisations to employ their own apprentices.
Across Loughborough 760 people started apprenticeships in the academic year 2011-12, and another 270 have started in the first quarter of this academic year. This is a 100% increase compared to 2009 – 10, the previous Government's last year in office.
This comes as the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) have released a forecast that apprenticeships completed over the next decade could contribute productivity gains worth up to £3.4 billion a year to the economy by 2022.
Nicky Morgan commented:
"Conservatives in Government are investing in apprenticeships to ensure that the country has the skills it needs to compete in the world and people across Loughborough are benefitting from this. I know from work that I have seen at Mulberry Square that apprenticeships are a win for the individual and a win for the business.
"National Apprenticeship this week provides a great opportunity to celebrate the positive impact that apprenticeships have on individuals, businesses and the economy."