Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has visited Solihull to meet young apprentices. Mr Osborne went to the Halfords on the Solihull retail park where he was introduced to members of the firm's apprenticeship scheme. The retailer has created 500 apprenticeships across its 487 stores, UK wide. Mr Osborne was accompanied by Julian Knight the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Solihull who has been running a campaign to encourage apprenticeships in Solihull. The Chancellor was impressed with the Halfords scheme and Mr Knight's campaign.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said : "The Conservatives are committed to creating three million new apprenticeships as part of our long term economic plan and I commend Julian Knight's campaign which is doing great things in Solihull. Julian wants see a 1000 young people take up apprenticeships over the next year in Solihull and this will give many a fantastic kickstart in life."
Julian Knight said that creating apprenticeships was absolutely key to securing the economic future of Solihull and the country as a whole: "A society can be best judged by the quality of the opportunities it offers its young people. Of course we want young people going to University but we must have apprenticeships for those that don't want to take that path or come out of further education and want to get into the world of work. I come from a working class, council estate background and I am absolutely passionate about equality of opportunity for all and that's why I have launched my campaign which has been backed by no less a figure than the Chancellor."