Youth Employment UK hosted the April APPG on Wednesday 20th April at the Houses of Parliament. We had support from over forty businesses and young people and have had great feedback.
Our speakers included:
Nadhim Zahawi – advisor to Prime Minister, Baroness Jean Corston and Paul Warner from AELP.
Here is an overview from Mike Leyland at Rathbone Training:
As Rathbone Training are a relatively new member of YEUK I was fortunate to be able to attend the Youth Employment APPG for the first time with two of our Apprentice Ambassadors on Wednesday. We were pleasantly surprised by the size of the room and the fact that our young people could have direct access to decision makers including MPs and members of the House of Lords. The nature of the event led by the chair Chloe Smith MP meant that there was an excellent balance between listening to the views of the key speakers and being able to ask questions. It was so inspiring for our two apprentices to be able to discuss the issues they face around apprenticeships with such an influential group of politicians, especially as Baroness Stedman Scott took the details of one of our young apprentices who lives independently and has agreed to help find additional support to help make sure her apprenticeship does not lead to her being worse off than on benefits. Both of the apprentices commented afterwards on how much they enjoyed the opportunity to ask their questions and listen to real debate on the issues they raised. This is a great example of what YEUK and the Youth Friendly Charter are all about as this was real youth voice in action with young people taking their concerns direct to the people that matter and being able to discuss them in a forum where their views can have a direct influence on policy. I’m already looking forward to the next one and seeing more of our young people benefit from this fantastic opportunity.
The next meeting is on May 17th and the agenda is Volunteering.
