Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Student Work Placements Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Student Work Placements

Baroness Gardner of Parkes Excerpts
Monday 16th July 2018

(6 years, 3 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Gardner of Parkes Portrait Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con)
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My Lords, does my noble friend appreciate that it is much more difficult for a small business to have someone in to learn exactly what it is all about than it is for huge concerns, which can take people without affecting staff numbers? I am pleased to say that as a dentist, we had a number of people come to see what it was like, and I am delighted now to go to a dentist who went into dentistry because of her visit to our surgery.

Lord Agnew of Oulton Portrait Lord Agnew of Oulton
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My Lords, as someone who has run SMEs for nearly 40 years I can speak with some commitment to that important part of our economy. My noble friend is right that it can be more difficult for a small business to accommodate these sorts of placements. However, they can also be much more flexible and give a young person much more exposure to every aspect of that business. As I mentioned, we are providing the resources and guidance to employers, and this whole programme will develop over the next couple of years.