Conservative MP Robert Halfon was the first Member of Parliament to take on a properly accredited apprentice, and he's just taken on his third.
MP for Harlow since 2010, Mr Halfon says: “It was in 2009 that I was working with these young people who were problem kids and they just couldn’t find opportunities.
“When I spoke to them they all said that what they wanted was an apprenticeship. It turned out they could get the odd interview in Leeds or something but that was no use when they were living in Harlow. They needed a real opportunity to give them a chance and hope."
“I made my maiden speech in Parliament on apprenticeships and the need for more after they had dwindled in previous years to almost zero and how they were as important as degrees for young people. All the emphasis had been put on universities and this wasn’t right for a lot of young people who were being denied the chance to move on.
“Then I thought, this is ridiculous. Here I am talking about this but I should have one in my office so I spoke to Harlow College and a local businessman and now I have the third apprentice going through the course and working for me. The first went on to university after passing through the apprenticeship with me and the second went into teacher training. The first had been doing nothing except the odd temporary job and the second was working in a coffee shop.
“They both needed more practical learning and spent one day at college, three days in Parliament and one in my constituency for the 18 months of the level three apprenticeship, equivalent to an NVQ.”
Mr Halfon's latest apprentices, Aaron Farrell was studying for A-levels when he applied for the business administration apprenticeship, and now works every day at Westminster and Harlow, except for Thursdays, when he goes to Harlow College on day release.
“This is an amazing opportunity and is the perfect way of learning for me,” he says. “While my friends are racking up massive debts at university, I am learning different skills in a high-pressure environment and I can always go on to university afterwards.”
