Apprenticeships

Nesil Caliskan Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Nesil Caliskan (Barking) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine.

The families and young people in Barking and Dagenham are not short of aspiration or willingness to work hard, but the lack of opportunities means that a staggering 46% of 19-year-olds there lack qualifications, the second worst statistic in London. The statistics do not much improve as young adults get older, as 22% of the residents in the area that I represent have no qualifications at all. Of course, behind every such statistic is a person, a life and wasted potential.

Unemployment caused by a skills gap also holds us back as a country. In Barking and Dagenham, economic inactivity is 25% higher than the London average, so this topic really matters to my constituents. The truth is that many of the people who I represent want to work, but the skills programmes and apprenticeship opportunities are simply not there. Indeed, the national apprenticeship levy is a system that is broken, which I know all too well because I led a local authority before coming to this place.

That is why I welcome the Government’s announcement to establish Skills England. I would also welcome the Minister giving more details on the timeline for that body, because the skills and apprenticeship challenge is a national one. Compared with those of other OECD countries, the UK workforce are under-qualified, primarily because this country has a much lower uptake of technical training in comparison with other levels of study, for reasons that my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) outlined.

Consequently, a national commitment to a comprehensive apprenticeship scheme is important. It should include small and medium-sized enterprises, such as those in my constituency, because I frequently meet apprentices who tell me that the additional support they receive from smaller employers or microbusinesses is outstanding.

It is important to link a skills agenda to an industrial strategy, which has been lacking for the past 14 years. Without a comprehensive industrial strategy and a skills agenda that sit side by side, we will set ourselves up for failure, so I welcome the Government’s commitment on both those plans.

Ofsted

Nesil Caliskan Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Nesil Caliskan (Barking) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her statement, and for her clarity on the next steps to drive improvement in schools across the country. Many teachers and parents will welcome the news that we will move away from one-word inspections, but intervention is not the same as driving improvement. Can the Minister reassure me that, alongside intervention, there will be a plan and support for schools so that we see the improvements necessary to give every child the best start in life?

[Catherine McKinnell]

We will continue to intervene in the worst-performing schools. Where a school would previously have been rated “inadequate”, the Government will still take action. We will issue academy orders, if required, in line with legal requirements. Inspection reports will continue to make it clear to parents if a school is in this situation, and Ofsted will continue to make it clear where a school is causing concern and if intervention is required by law.

We will also ensure that, where schools need support, they get that support. We will roll out regional improvement teams to ensure that, where schools are struggling, they get the support they need, through a system that partners them with high-performing schools in the area to ensure that schools work together for the benefit of their whole community. We see that as a key part of driving the reforms that we want to see for every child.