The Government has set itself a target to get 50 per cent of all our children into higher education. If we are to compete in the modern world it is the least we must achieve and, since record numbers of young people are now going to university, we can be confident the target will eventually be reached.

Of course, not all young people want to go to university and for many it’s not the right choice. But all young people will need training and skills to equip them for a productive working life and for many that will mean an apprenticeship.

When I was in my teens, it was common for people to follow an apprenticeship but by the time Labour came to power in 1997, apprenticeships were almost non-existent. Thankfully, the Government has now put that right. By 2003/4 there were 50,000 people completing apprenticeships and the number had more than doubled to 113,000 in 2007/8. Recently, the Prime Minister announced another 35,000 apprenticeships would be created and, because we don’t want the pace to slow during the economic slow down, 21,000 of them will be in the public sector.

We’ve also seen the benefits right here in our own community. Last year there were 140 people completing apprenticeships in my South Thanet constituency and 170 completed one in North Thanet.

Of course, not everyone agrees with giving all young people the chance to maximise their potential. The Conservatives have proposed cuts that would mean scrapping the target for getting people into university, slashing the skills, university and science budgets by £610m and cutting the non-school part of the Department for Children, Schools and Families by £300m!

In the future, not only will we have to compete with today’s developed countries, countries like India and China are also pumping out graduates, scientists and skilled people by the million. If our kids are to prosper in the years to come, we have to make sure they are prepared and trained. Here in Thanet, where many people are unskilled, it is vital that we get more young people through apprenticeships or into college and that is what Labour plans to do.