'Young people need clear pathway to skilled work'

ONE of the best things about being a Member of Parliament is getting out across Newcastle-under-Lyme to meet the people and businesses that drive our local community and our local economy.

- Adam Jogee - MP for Newcastle

SKILLS: Adam visiting Newcastle companies Broxap and, Inset, Meighs and Westleys.

In recent weeks, that's included visits to Meighs & Westleys in Holditch and Broxap in Chesterton - two examples of the many longstanding businesses rooted in our community.

At Meighs & Westleys, or the Westley Group, I saw the precision engineering that supports the UK's defence sector and underpins our exports.

The apprentices, engineers and brilliant staff I met show exactly why advanced manufacturing must remain central to our economic future.

At Broxapone of the country's leading suppliers of street furniture - I saw how skilled work, here in Newcastle, shapes the everyday spaces we all use.

The steady precision behind products most of us barely notice is a reminder that strong industries are built by people whose expertise shows up in communities nationwide.

What connects these businesses is not just their history or their impact on our local economy, but the opportunities they represent.

It is a time when the Government is rightly reviewing the balance between university pathways and vocational and technical education.

It has been setting out its ambitions in the recent national plans to improve post-16 education - aiming for clearer routes into high quality jobs, stronger partnerships with employers and more opportunities for higher level technical study.