I’m a huge champion of apprenticeships because they boost productivity, help companies succeed and equip my constituents with the skills they need to get ahead in their job.

I’ve seen this first hand at British Gas, Pepsico, Greenacres and Leicester College, which is why I’ll be campaigning hard for Labour’s pledge to guarantee an apprenticeship for every school leaver who gets the grades.  This will be a big step towards our long term goal of ensuring as many school leavers begin an apprenticeships as go to university.

In return for guaranteeing more high quality training places, we’ll give employers more control over the near £1bn-a-year apprenticeship budget. We’ll also require large firms hiring skilled workers from outside the EU or bidding for government contracts to offer apprenticeships.