I attended the second of two meetings this week on job opportunities for Young People as part of a Council Scrutiny of the subject.

The council procurement team has come a long way in working on promoting apprenticeships through contracts awarded by the Council, following requests from Councillors over the last few  years for as much as possible to be done in this area.

The larger contracts advertised by the Council now include requests for information on past experience of companies in providing apprenticeships through new contracts as well as requirements for a certain number of apprenticeships to be created or protected. In one such case, that of the building of new primary schools, one company created 31 positions, six times more than originally promised by to the council. It is clear that in this area the council is making very good progress.

Collectively councillors from all parties are ensuring that promotion of opportunities is a key target. I am keen to see more done to promote local companies involvement in applying for work through the council and am sure that our pressure will make this even easier and more successful in the coming years.