Skills Minister, Matthew Hancock MP, will swap his suit for overalls and take part in a job swap with our apprentice champion of the year, Jenny Westworth for the apprenticeships channel on YouTube.
For the first leg of the swap today, former apprentice engineer, Jenny, joined the Minister in Westminster, including ministerial meetings at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and preparing for a Parliamentary debate.
Skills Minister Matthew Hancock, said:
“Apprenticeships deliver by training and developing highly skilled workers, such as Jenny, across industry sectors and offer real jobs for young people. National Apprenticeship Week is a chance to highlight the value of Apprenticeships to both individuals and employers and Jenny is an inspiration and an example. I look forward to completing the swap and joining Jenny in her role over the summer and would encourage more MPs and company bosses to take part in job swaps to see the real impact apprentices have.”
Jenny, who completed her Advanced Apprenticeship in Aerospace Engineering with BAE Systems, said: “I am excited and honoured to have the opportunity to be a Minister for the day. I also can’t wait for him see what I do as a result of my Apprenticeship at BAE.”
Later this year the Minister will visit Jenny in her job as manufacturing engineer at the Eurofighter Typhoon Aircraft Final Assembly facility at our Warton site in Lancashire.
Jenny continued: “My Apprenticeship was the best possible career choice I could have made. It allowed me to work out what my strengths and weaknesses were before making a firm choice on what I actually wanted to do. It has helped make me a far better engineer and has provided me with the foundations for a really exciting career.
“It’s the hands on experience from day one that makes Apprenticeships stand out. Employers give you a high level of responsibility whilst you’re learning on the job, which means you develop skills very quickly.”
David Way, Chief Executive of the National Apprenticeship Service, which is co-ordinating the Week, said: “This Ministerial job swap is a unique highlight for this year’s National Apprenticeship Week. It’s through activities, such as job swaps, that we can really demonstrate how Apprenticeships deliver both for employers and individuals and the economy.”
CEOs and senior directors across the country have swapping jobs with apprentices to learn about the real value and impact of Apprenticeships this National Apprenticeship Week 2013 (#NAW2013). To view other films of job swaps at Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Pendennis shipyard visit the apprenticeships channel on YouTube.