Lancashire apprentices visit the House of Commons

Five apprentices from Lancashire visited the House of Commons yesterday, Thursday 9 March, as part of an event to mark National Apprenticeship week.

Alisha Clarkson from Accrington, Crystal Elwell from Blackburn, Frankie Haggerty from Preston, Aaron Hamilton from Nelson, and Portia Taylor-Black from Ormskirk were part of a group of 150 apprentices from across the country to meet Robert Halfron MP, the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills.

Alisha is employed by North Lancashire Training Group; Crystal by The Hippo Motor Group, Frankie by Forbes Solicitors, Aaron by Nelson and Colne College and Portia Taylor-Black by West Lancashire Borough Council.

The Lancashire contingent was invited to share their experiences of promoting apprenticeships as members of the Lancashire Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, which is part of a county-wide drive to increase training and employment opportunities for young people and raise workforce skills.

The network is a joint initiative set up by the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub, which is part of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and the Lancashire Work Based Learning (WBL) Executive Forum, a consortium of Lancashire apprenticeship providers. It is also affiliated with the North West Ambassador Network.

Crystal said: “Opportunities like these don’t often happen for young apprentices as sometimes we are overshadowed by the perception that we are young and inexperienced.
“However events like these show that young people do have the motivation to achieve greatness in a career they are genuinely passionate about.”

Frankie said: “It was an honour to visit the House of Commons. It was exciting to meet apprentices from all over the country and it was inspiring to hear about their individual journeys.
“Completing my apprenticeship at Forbes has given me skills and confidence to build myself a career, and I would encourage any young person to take up an apprenticeship.”

Aaron said: “I was excited to be given the opportunity to go to the House of Commons, it was a great experience and gave me a fantastic chance to share my apprenticeship journey at Nelson and Colne College with other apprentices and the minister of apprenticeships.”

Lisa Moizer, manager and coordinator of the Lancashire Skills Hub, commented: “It was fantastic that five local apprenticeships were able to take the message about apprenticeships to the House of Commons.

“Apprenticeships are an excellent means for young people to rapidly learn a new trade, and allow businesses to cultivate energetic and capable employees and boost productivity.