PM welcomes apprentices to Number 10

28 January 2008

Gordon Brown welcomed four apprentices to Number 10 last week to hear first-hand about how young people are improving their skills.

Lucy Rouillon, Gareth Moor, Jonathan Pearson and Abigail Kewin all won awards or commendations in the Apprentice of the Year contest 2007. The PM congratulated them for proving how it is possible to "progress and make advances" in a career and asked them to go on encouraging others to do the same.

19-year-old Lucy, from Middlesex, completed an Advanced Apprenticeship in business administration with the NHS where she spent time helping people to return to employment. Speaking in Downing Street, Lucy said that the course had done a lot to help in her future career.

Gareth, a 23-year-old from Morpeth, began an apprenticeship in electrical engineering in 2003 and is now wroking towards a degree at Northumbria University. Gareth praised the apprencticeship scheme for allowing people to "earn-while-you-learn" and said his course had helped him gain a promotion to the role of site foreman.

Jonathan, from Preston, won an award for his apprenticeship work in food and drink manufacturing. The 22-year-old said the training had given him the confidence to "aim for the top" and that he had been promoted as a result of his improved ability and experience.

15-year-old Abigail Kewin, from Tyne and Wear, won an award for her apprenticeship in Art and Design. Abigail said she had found the training "inspirational" and that she now plans to study for a degree in art and pursue a career in advertising.

This morning the Prime Minister delivered a speech to business leaders in London where he announced an extra 90,000 apprenticeships by 2013 with increased incentives for businesses to get involved.

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