Saturday 11, February 2012
Welcome ...
Welcome to this my 111th news bulletin.
This week marked National Apprenticeship Week – a celebration of apprenticeships and how they are helping to shape our workplaces. Apprenticeships are about learning on the job, not sitting in a classroom but getting out into the workplace and learning a new trade.
Who knows where an apprenticeship may lead, the likes of Jamie Oliver; the Formula One engineer Ross Brawn and Eric Clapton all started out as apprentices. Up and down the country hundreds of thousands of young people are following in their footsteps and realising the life-changing opportunity becoming an apprentice affords.
Here in Crewe and Nantwich we gained 550 new apprentices last year, an increase of 80.9%. And we are not alone: across the country there was a 63 per cent increase as 450,000 people started an apprenticeship last year. With yet more investment by the Government we are sure to see this number rise.
This week David Cameron announced businesses and training providers can bid for a share of the £6m Higher Apprenticeship Fund, which will support the development of new Higher Apprenticeships in sectors including aerospace, energy and renewable technologies. An additional £250m will be available to businesses to boost skills in their workplace.
So why do I think more people from Crewe and Nantwich should be signing up for apprenticeships?
Many in Crewe and Nantwich may leave school and not know which way to turn. One option may be university, another to travel in a gap year or simply work. But there is another option – becoming an apprentice. And the best thing is that this option allows you to earn and learn at the same time.
The second fantastic thing about apprenticeships is the skills they provide. More and more employers are saying that graduates and school leavers do not have the tools necessary for the working world. An apprenticeship is a great way of developing a young person’s skills, of tailoring them to the workplace.
But apprenticeships are not just a win for young people. They are beneficial to small businesses, such as At One printing in Crewe, which is why the Government has launched new initiatives to encourage more firms to take on apprentices. This way they can train people to their standard and in return get loyal staff and a quick recoup of their investment. As an added incentive from today any small business in Crewe and Nantwich who hires an apprentice aged 16-24 will be eligible for £1,500.
They are a boost for our economy – every £1 of public cash invested in apprentices returns an estimated £18 to the wider economy. This is vital at a time when new jobs and growth are what’s needed when we face the biggest economic crisis any of us have known.
Apprenticeships are a win for business, a win for young people and a win for the economy – that is why I am delighted that here in Crewe and Nantwich we are adding more names to the growing list of people realising their potential through an apprenticeship.
Please remember, you can always contact me directly if you have any questions for me.
You can forward the bulletin on to your friends and family, who can sign up themselves by clicking here for my website.
Best wishes
Edward Timpson
Member of Parliament for Crewe & Nantwich
I have recently ...
- Attended Monday morning's assembly at Brierley Primary School to help promote Cancer Research UK's Leap into Action Day
- Spent my last two days on Thursday and Friday working at Leighton Hospital, mucking in with staff at all levels and experiencing their day-to-day jobs, including theatre, complaints, sexual health, maternity, neonatal and paediatrics. Look out for my diary detailing my experience in the Chronicle newspaper. Also please support the "One in Eleven" fundraising campaign for a new neonatal intensive care unit (for which I am a Patron) at Leighton Hospital by visiting this link
- Went to the Bentley Dinner to support one of our largest local employers and discuss how the company can become even more involved in supporting the local community.
- Questioned the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the House of Commons about the "Protect Stapeley" campaign. Read more here
Westminster Report
Read my most recent Westminster Report
Click here or on the image
Photos & Video ...
Edward with staff at Leighton Hospital's Neonatal Unit
You can view all my photos and video at edwardtimpsonmp.com
Community News
Community & Voluntary Services Cheshire East
Looking to find opportunities to help out in the community? CVS (Community & Voluntary Services) Cheshire East is a Registered Charity whose aim is to be valued as the leading support and development organisation for the Voluntary and Community Sector in Cheshire East.
The CVS's volunteer team can support you in several ways:
- Help you to find a suitable volunteer role
- Help organisations to find suitable volunteers
- Encourage best practice in volunteer management
- To promote volunteering and the added value that it brings to our community
To find out more visit their website by clicking here
Do you have community news to share? Email me and it could be here too!
Nantwich MP Timpson attends Koconut Grove cancer charity event
Nantwich MP Edward Timpson joined in a fund-raising event at an Indian restaurant in Shavington.
He was at The Koconut Grove Indian restaurant at The Cheshire Cheese in aid of Cancer Research UK.
A charity auction took place in the restaurant with all the proceeds from the auction and raffle being donated going to Cancer Research UK.
Mr Timpson was in attendance to hold the raffle and auction that raised a £1,406 for the charity.
The MP said: “The Koconut Grove has raised an impressive amount for a very worthwhile charity.
“I commend Sreekumar Kolangat and his staff for their generosity and congratulate all those present on making it such a successful occasion.”
Sreekumar Kolangat, chairman and managing director of 3k Enterprises, said: “We were overwhelmed by the support and help we received from our patrons.
“Koconut Grove is always happy to contribute towards charities and need to support the needs of our local community.”
Leighton Hospital in Crewe unveils revamped orthopaedic unit
Crewe Chronicle
PATIENTS with broken bones will now have access to more efficient treatment thanks to a revamp at Leighton Hospital’s orthopaedic outpatients unit.
Improved facilities include an increased amount of privacy and dignity for patients, with eight individual consultation rooms replacing the original seven curtained cubicles.
The department, which incorporates the fracture clinic, now also has a specially designed plaster room, replacing the previous facility which was located in a portable cabin adjacent to the unit.
This new plaster room has facilities to allow for four patients to be seen simultaneously.
Matron Del Owen said: “The three-month refurbishment has created a much more efficient service and pleasant environment for patients, and has greatly improved the working conditions for our staff. The new reception and waiting area is light and airy, and also features a television for patients, courtesy of the hospital’s League of Friends charity organisation.”
Edward Timpson MP was also given a tour of the new facilities. He said: “I’ve been very impressed. The people of Crewe, Nantwich and the surrounding areas will be well served by having such a valuable clinic on their doorstep.”
“How much more of our money are they prepared to waste until the application finally fails?
“We will win this campaign,” said Mr Perris.
Crewe and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson tells of his experience growing up with foster children
Crewe Chronicle
Crewe and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson grew up with foster children. He talked to reporter Belinda Ryan about his childhood and what he gained from the experience.
CREWE and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson can’t really remember a time growing up when his parents’ home wasn’t full of foster children.
Mr Timpson was only five when his mum and dad, John and Alex, began fostering.
During the 30 years they acted as foster carers, they looked after nearly 90 children.
Mr Timpson says it was this positive experience which motivated him into practising family law and taking on the position of chairman of the all-party group on fostering and adoption.
“One of the things that really motivated me to do what I’m doing now is to try to help those children who find themselves in care, through no fault of their own, to get a better life and have a better chance to make something of themselves,” said the Conservative MP.
With more than 60,000 children in care, thousands of carers are needed up and down the country.
More than 1,200 extra foster carers need to be found across the north west of England in the next 12 months, according to the Fostering Network.
Mr Timpson still bumps into people who were fostered by his parents.
During last year’s election campaign he told how he met a man at a public meeting who was about seven years younger than himself who was fostered by his parents.
“When you talk to them and find out what they’re doing now and what they’ve made of their lives, it really hits home what my parents did and how much it’s played a part in these peoples’ lives,” said Mr Timpson.
The Tory MP admits his initial reaction when he discovered his parents had started fostering wasn’t as charitable as it might have been.
“I was nearly six and I came skipping home from school one day to find these two fairly loud children, aged five and three, downstairs in the kitchen,” he said. “As the youngest of three I was used to having my mother’s undivided attention and on finding I was to have to share her my reaction was to run upstairs in a huff, run into my bedroom, slam the door and refuse to come out until they left.”
His reaction didn’t last long.
“As I grew older I started to take on more of a caring role myself, helping to do late-night bottles, that sort of thing, and I could start to see what my parents were doing it for and it was quite rewarding,” he said.
“You could see the change in many of these children. They started to thrive under routine, their personalities came out and the resentment I had at the start just evaporated.”
5 ways to contact Edward Timpson
- By email: timpsone@parliament.uk
- On the web: edwardtimpsonmp.com
- By phone: 01270 501 725
- By post: 30 Victoria Street, Crewe CW1 2JE
- In person: Click here to see surgery times
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