Speaking Up Photo: Casey Gutteridge, Welwyn & Hatfield Times
APPRENTICESHIPS MINISTER IS A BIG HIT! Katie Fraser ertfordshire PASS's WorkABILITY* has three apprentices - myself (Katie Fraser, Support Co-ordinator), Patrick Fitzgerald (Placements Co-ordinator) and Andrew Bird (Access Co-ordinator). We had a visit from the minister for apprenticeships, Lord Young who came to listen to our stories about being an apprentice.
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We talked a lot about the benefit trap, support and equipment that we needed, longer time needed to complete our Business Administration NVQ and the Government's proposals to require 5 GCSEs to get an apprenticeship placement. We then had a session with Lord Young to showcase our work which we were most proud of. Andrew showed him a Big Lottery Fund's newsletter article on the Summer Job Forum. I showed Lord Young the photos, a folder of agendas and evaluation forms of the Summer Job forum that I ran with Mat Fraser, a disabled actor. Patrick showed Lord Young the students, job vacancies and company databases.
Photos courtesy of Hertfordshire PASS
I think the visit was really good and a hit because we felt that our opinions were being heard and listened to. I hope Lord Young will share with Government what he has found out by visiting us and hearing our stories of being an apprentice. We want Government to change the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill so that all young people can have an equal chance to do their apprenticeships. *WorkABILITY is a project run by Hertfordshire PASS which helps young disabled people with a physical or learning disabilities. Hertfordshire PASS is a user-lead driven organisation which enables disabled people to "overcome barriers to work". Alliance for Inclusive Education organised the event with Hertfordshire PASS. This was part of ALLFIE's campaign to get an inclusive apprenticeship scheme where everyone can work and learn together. See ALLFIE's briefings at www.allfie.org.uk
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