LAST week was National Apprenticeship Week, an excellent initiative now in its seventh year, which aims to raise the profile of apprenticeships with employers and young people and highlight their importance for building skills for the future.

The Government has made huge headway since it came to power in raising the status of apprenticeships with the aim of ensuring school leavers view them and university with equal merit.

This was certainly the view of the young apprentices I met recently at IT company Cisco, who are gaining experience in a range of commercial disciplines.

I also had the pleasure to meet the inspirational head of the Cisco apprenticeship scheme, Andy Turner, who is a walking example of the rewards apprenticeships can offer.

Having started his career as an apprentice, he is now a company director.

As part of the Apprentice Week celebrations, I took part in an apprenticeship challenge, organised by Chiltern Training, a local business which specialises in providing training in childcare.

Taking part in some of the challenges it was clear to see how important the skills the young people are developing are to maintaining high standards in the childcare industry.Increasingly, apprenticeships are being recognised not just for the benefits they offer individuals, but for the net benefits they offer to businesses and the wider economy.

In fact, a new study by the Association of Accounting Technicians, estimated that the 1,030 apprenticeship starts in my Reading West constituency last year provided a boost worth around £2.2m to the local economy.

In the last three years there have been 1.5 million apprenticeships started across the UK – more than during the entire last five year Parliament under Labour. This huge increase is a testament to the Government’s commitment to apprenticeships and giving opportunities to more young people.

I know from personal experience the value of getting practical work experience at the same time as studying, which I found both when I was sponsored by a local electronics manufacturer to go to university and subsequently when I trained and studied at the same time for an accountancy qualification.

Initiatives like Apprenticeship Week allow employers to highlight the choices open to young people and that is why I support and applaud apprenticeship initiatives by employers in Reading throughout the year.