RECENTLY I had the privilege of attending the ‘Inspiring the Forest’ event at Gloucestershire College and Dene Magna’s fantastic new Cinderford campus. The event brought together nearly 750 year 10 students (aged 14 and 15) from five Forest schools - Dene Magna School, Five Acres High School, Newent Community School, SGS Forest High School and Wyedean School – connecting them with 21 local employers.

The event was organised by the Forest Economic Partnership. The group were particularly keen to see that our local young people are exposed to sectors, industries and organisations that they may never have considered or even heard of before. The event achieved exactly that – raising awareness of the mix of businesses in the area, the types of jobs available, and the skills required.

As the Forest of Dean’s MP, I work closely with our small, medium and large businesses, including many of those at the event. For example, AccXel, who I helped secure £2 million from the Government for their Construction Skills Accelerator Centre, were on hand showcasing a state-of-the-art heavy machinery simulator which they use to train their apprentices. Also in attendance were NewSpace Containers, makers of bespoke accommodation units who I visited on the Lydney Harbour Estate recently, and Suntory, the makers of Ribena, one of the Forest’s biggest employers and an organisation I helped host an event in Parliament a few weeks ago, celebrating the work of local blackcurrant growers.

The event was particularly great at showcasing apprenticeships. I am a big supporter of apprenticeships and the fantastic opportunities they present to people wishing to develop valuable skills without accumulating lots of debt, but also to employers in training apprentices up to a standard required by their business. The Government is equally supportive of apprenticeships, increasing apprenticeship funding to £2.7 billion by 2024/25 and covering 95% of the training costs for most apprentices.

This was the second ‘Inspiring the Forest’ event and I would encourage any local business that is looking to give opportunities to local young people to engage with the Forest Economic Partnership on future such events.

Contact me: [email protected] | www.markharper.org | House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA | @Mark_J_Harper | facebook.com/mark.harper.fod.