'˜Parents should urge children to boost skills'

Tory boss Councillor Donna Jones met minister for apprenticeships and skills, Anne Milton, to consider the Sainsbury Review, about giving young people the right skills for work.

Cllr Jones said: ‘There is a world skills shortage and the UK is part of this. The UK needs to catch up and Portsmouth is part of the plan.

‘With the largest employers in the city in industry that require engineers, companies such as Airbus, BAE Systems, Babcock, Lockheed Martin and the Royal Navy, we need to ensure we meet the skill requirements for jobs in our area. Portsmouth’s largest employers struggle to recruit from the area and jobs are going to people from outside the area and in many cases to people from outside the UK.

‘We need to address this. I urge parents to speak to their children about all the options for learning beyond 16 years of age.’