"The Chancellor's Spring Statement reiterates the Government's commitment to strengthening skills and apprenticeships, which will be crucial to the future of UK engineering and manufacturing," says Ann Watson, CEO of Enginuity, in response to the Chancellor's Spring Statement.
"The Government's current focus on supporting NEETs presents an opportunity to go further and deeper. The Chancellor mentioned she will be announcing further reforms for young people in the coming weeks.
"Within this, we would like to see specific support for SMEs which make up the vast majority of the country's manufacturing employers: reducing their cost base, helping them to build their workforce, and engaging them fully in policy development. It is vital that young people have access to high-quality apprenticeships and that SMEs have the support that they need to benefit from this talent.
"Enginuity has recently launched The Policy Centre for Supply Chain and SMEs, which will unify and amplify SME voices at the highest levels of policymaking. We believe that, by unlocking the growth potential of SMEs, we can finally achieve the step-change that our economy needs to thrive."
