MP dropped from apprenticeships role

STRATFORD MP Nadhim Zahawi has ceased to be the Downing Street apprenticeships adviser.

He was appointed to the role by David Cameron in November 2015 to help him achieve the government’s goal of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020.

A spokesman for Mr Zahawi told the Herald: “As Nadhim was appointed by David Cameron as his personal adviser on the subject, the role stopped when he ceased to be Prime Minister in July.”

Mr Zahawi hosted the 2015 National Apprenticeship Awards in January and launched the Primary Futures Apprenticeship scheme, which aims to help pupils make a connection between what they learn in the classroom and how it relates to the world of work.

In an interview with the trade journal FE Week in March Mr Zahawi spoke of his aspirations for a much-improved apprenticeship system.

He said: “I want to get to a place where, when I’m long gone from here, when we’re all long gone, the system just works – where I don’t meet you people who say to me, ‘Oh, I fell upon it [an apprenticeship] by accident.

“The options are there for young people. It’s not just the traditional route of going to university. There is another route here which is aspirational, and can led to a great career.”