Amanda Milling MP has welcomed new figures showing 370 new apprenticeships have been started in the Cannock Chase constituency between August and October 2015. Following the latest academic year, new figures just released by the Skills Funding Agency and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills show that Cannock Chase is the top seat in Staffordshire (excluding Stoke on Trent Unitary Authority) and joint fifth across the whole of the West Midlands in terms of apprenticeship starts.
This brings the total apprenticeships started in Cannock Chase to 6,590 since May 2010. This local growth in apprenticeships has been part of a wider increase, with 245,360 started in the West Midlands region since May 2010, and over 2.6 million new apprenticeships across England.
The Cannock Chase MP believes that apprenticeships are being seen more and more as a good career path for local young people and she would like to see more businesses take on apprentices.
Amanda Milling said: "These figures are fantastic news. Cannock Chase is again topping another table when it comes to employment figures in the area. With more and more companies taking on staff and new businesses locating to Cannock Chase, we are seeing the local economy go from strength to strength.
She added, "Apprenticeships are particularly important because they ensure more young people can earn and learn, with the prospect of a good job and a more secure future ahead of them."
These apprenticeship figures follow news that Cannock Chase had the fourth most improved employment figures in the country between May 2010 and November 2015. Cannock Chase has also recently topped Staffordshire's business start-up figures showing that Cannock Chase's economy is growing and expanding year on year.