Mark Garnier, the local MP for the area, welcomes recent provisional figures which show that the number of apprenticeships in Wyre Forest will more than double from 2010 to 2011.
The figures, released last month by the Department for Business, show that the number of apprenticeships in the region has soared from 460 in 2009/10 to 950 in 2010/11. This is a massive increase of 109%; the largest in the West Midlands.
Having seen the figures Mark said:
"This is absolutely fantastic news. One of my top priorities as MP for Wyre Forest is to promote growth and jobs in the area and this can only be done by giving our young people the necessary skills that local businesses need.
I am thrilled that we have twice as many more apprenticeships this year than we did last year and would encourage businesses throughout Wyre Forest to look into the possibility of hiring an apprentice or expanding their existing apprenticeship programme. This way our economy can continue to benefit from a skilled and educated workforce. "
The figures for the whole of the West Midlands show that the number of apprenticeships has increased from 31,720 in 2009/10 to 52,390 in 2010/11; an overall increase of 65%.