The business secretary is going to chair a recovery round table on levelling up economic performance across the UK, including through skills and apprenticeships.
It is one of five new business-focused groups Alok Sharma is creating to “unleash Britain’s growth potential and create jobs”, as part of the government’s plans to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. The membership of the working groups is yet to be published, but each will consist of approximately 20 to 25 participants.
The move comes after prime minister Boris Johnson said last week that young people should be guaranteed an apprenticeship in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its likely impact on the UK economy.
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Speaking at the Downing Street briefing, the prime minister said: “For young people in particular, for whom the risk is highest of losing a job, I think it is going to be vital that we guarantee apprenticeships. We have to look after people across the board, but young people, I believe, should be guaranteed an apprenticeship.”
The first meetings of the new roundtables will be held this week, bringing together businesses, business representative groups and leading academics. They will consider measures to support economic recovery and ensure we have the right skills and opportunities in place for our workforce over the next 18 months.
The five new groups will be looking at the future of industry; green recovery; backing new businesses; increasing opportunity; how to level up economic performance across the UK, including through skills and apprenticeships; and making “the UK open for business”.
Mr Sharma commented: “These roundtables are a redoubling of our efforts to listen to and work with the business community and academic experts as we consider the measures needed to support our economic bounce-back. This will undoubtedly lead to a cleaner, greener, more resilient economy, which will create new jobs.
“The output from this initiative will feed directly into the government’s work on economic recovery and will help deliver the commitments we made to the British people only last December, which now take on an even greater sense of urgency and importance.”
