Last week I was pleased to meet Matthew Grove a constituent of mine who is doing an apprenticeship in carpentry.

Matt was keen to tell me what he was doing and the qualifications he hopes to achieve. In 18 months’ time Matt will be in the work place and I wish him every success.

I am pleased to be part of a Government that has created 2.9 million apprentices and will continue to create many more. In order for Britain to have balanced growth and a diverse economy we need to have a workforce that is technically skilled and I will be working with the Government to ensure apprenticeships are not seen as the poor relation to a university education.