Gordon Brown recognizes what apprentices are
bringing to the workplace. The Prime Minister hosted a prestigious
celebration of British apprenticeships and invited 40 very special
and lucky apprentices to Downing Street. He also invited
representatives of the companies that employ them and the trades
unions that are supporting them.
Unite was there in force because we have been
championing learning in the workplace for many years – it doesn’t
matter if the workplace is a field, a factory or a pharmacy. Unite
knows the benefits of relevant, accessible and transferable
workplace based training and skills for our members. In all, 13 of
the apprentices taking part in the celebrations in Downing Street
were Unite members, like Richard Sagar and Emma Fallows. They were
joined by JGS Derek Simpson and AGS Gail Cartmail.
Richard 22, who works for Eden Electrics in
Dumfriesshire, Scotland, demonstrated his ability at the
WorldSkills Competition in Calgary, Canada. He took the gold medal
in electrical installation, sharing top honours in the event with
Japan’s Kawashita Masahiko and Jeremy Leveque of France in a
close-fought competition.
At the event, Richard said “I now have a
lifetime qualification that is portable, not just in the UK, but
worldwide. I have the confidence to work anywhere, and the
opportunity to progress as far as I want to go. These pathways have
now provided an outstanding career, with a high earning potential,
something that may not have happened if I had gone on to
university.
”Richard Sagar gives his speech - (Picture by Jess
Hurd; www.reportdigital.co.uk)
He has been a Unite member since commencing
his SJIB apprenticeship in 2005, and is undertaking his electrical
apprenticeship with Scotland’s jointly established Unite / SELECT
electrical training provider, the Scottish Electrical Charitable
Training Trust (SECTT).
Emma was there because of the skills and
ability she has shown. She secured a position as an apprentice
Quantity Surveyor for Balfour Beatty Engineering Services at
Sellafield in Cumbria, and was invited to this prestigious
celebration by the PM, to represent both Unite and Balfour
Beatty.
Following formal education in school, college
or university, our members are never satisfied with moving into a
career that is going nowhere. They realise that in this world
skills count. Skills count in terms of improving workers pay and
standards of living; they count in terms of sustaining work and
quality outputs within their company, industry or service; they
count in terms of attracting work to this country.
Unite is committed to ensuring that workplace
training and skills are firmly embedded as part of the collective
bargaining agenda. Union Learning Reps (ULRs) have a key role to
play in ensuring that Unite members gain access to the sort of high
quality training exemplified by apprenticeships.
Tom Beattie, Unite Head of Lifelong Learning,
was invited along as part of the Unite team. He said ”I am
delighted this celebration is taking place. The young workers of
today are the people who will make the world into whatever it is
going to be. We must give them the skills to make it a better,
fairer place for all of us to live and work in. Supporting them
through apprenticeships and through continued learning and
education is the ONLY way to reach that future goal for us
all.”
Emma Fallows talking to the PM
(Picture by Jess Hurd; www.reportdigital.co.uk)
Celebrations like this, and the support of the
PM and the Labour government for apprenticeships are invaluable.
They really are the icing on the cake. These events highlight the
benefits of proper apprenticeships; that lead to a career structure
and are supported fully by responsible employers. They highlight
how skills and training are the engines that will pull this
country’s economy back onto the rail track to prosperity.
Other Unite apprentices at Number 10
for the Celebration with the Prime Minister were –
Sean McCarthy & Mathew Lines of T.
Clarke; London
Dean Powell of John N Dunn Group Ltd;
Leeds
.
Nathan Willmot of NG Bailey
Engineering; Sheffield
David Keightley of Brush Electrical
Machines; Loughborough
Paul Murphy & Karim Berkia of
Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd; Ellesmere Port &
Knottingley
Stuart Cullom of Hillingdon Hospital
NHS Trust; Hertfordshire
Lewis Wainwright,
Rosie O’Rourke & Lee Gardner
of
Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery
Limited; Lincoln
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