Labour will create jobs of the future for local young people in key institutions

Labour is today confirming plans to support the long-term future of key high-tech hubs across the East of England, with 10-year secure budgets. 

To create jobs in the region, Labour will roll out a new British Industrial Strategy, which will include ten-year research and development budgets for key institutions. This will give businesses the stability that they need to support wealth creation, growth and the jobs we need to power the future in Britain.

By linking Labour’s plans with the new British Industrial Strategy, businesses supported could include:

• The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult in Lowestoft, part of East Anglia’s burgeoning offshore wind cluster. This will support Labour’s plans to create 38,000 jobs in clean energy in the region. 

Labour has also announced plans to ensure local young people can access opportunities in these high-tech industries of the future, with pledges to:

• Support nearly 2,000 more young people into good education, employment or training opportunities each year by reforming the government’s failed apprenticeship levy.

• Deliver over 127,000 more hours of professional careers advice for young people in the East of England

• A new “youth guarantee” of training, an apprenticeship or help to find work for all young people, supporting the 55,000 young people in the East of England who aren’t in education, employment or training

• Create a new generation of Technical Excellence Colleges will bring new training opportunities including in-demand higher technical skills to colleges in the region

Jess Asato, Labour’s candidate for Lowestoft, said,  

“Our local green energy sector has been crying out for stability and long-term investment which is why today's R&D announcement is so exciting for Lowestoft. 

"Our area is in a great position to benefit from Labour's plans to ensure the UK leads the world in the industries of the future and create the decent jobs in green energy our young people desperately need." 

Labour’s Deputy Leader and Shadow Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner said:

“Labour will relight the fire of the East of England and drive growth in every corner of the country. You can believe that Labour is committed to tackling regional inequality in Britain because it is in our DNA.

“For over a century it has been a mission of every Labour Prime Minister to rebuild our economy hand in hand with local leaders so no one is left behind.”

Notes

Labour’s manifesto confirmed plans to scrap short funding cycles for key R&D institutions in favour of ten-year budgets that allow meaningful partnerships with industry to keep the UK at the forefront of global innovation.  Labour will ensure align with its plans and priorities for our industrial strategy, such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, automotive, life sciences, artificial intelligence, and others. 

Labour has announced a youth guarantee that will mean opportunities for training, an apprenticeship or help to find work for all young people aged 18- 21 years old, to prevent young people becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age. The number of people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training from the Department for Education. 

Labour will also guarantee two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person and improve careers advice in schools and colleges. Labour is committed to recruiting over 1,000 professional careers advisors, with additional hours of careers advice calculated in proportion to the number of secondary schools and colleges in each region.

Labour’s Opportunity Mission committed to a target of 85% progression into sustained education, training or employment destinations as a product of policies across schools, further and higher education. Taking the five year average of the current proportion of young people moving into sustained destinations based on Department for Education data we have calculated the difference our mission would make 

Labour will transform Further Education colleges into specialist Technical Excellence Colleges. These colleges will work with businesses, trade unions, and local government to provide young people with better job opportunities and the highly trained workforce that local economies need.

Labour's Clean Power Mission will crowd in billions of additional private investment, providing a significant boost to Britain's steel, automotive, energy, and manufacturing industries. These policies will support the creation of over 200,000 direct jobs and up to 260,000-300,000 indirect jobs by 2030. (Internal workings based on DESNZ and National Grid Future Energy Scenarios).