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John Denham speech to Congress 2008

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John Denham speech to Congress 2008

Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills address to TUC Congress. Brighton, Tuesday 9 September 2008.

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General Secretary, thank you for the introduction and for the opportunity to speak to you today.john denham

These are difficult economic times. The international credit crunch. Rising global food prices. The sharp increases and swift changes in world energy prices. Difficult times triggered by international events.

We know that global forces can produce great wealth; but we also know that they can push societies like ours towards greater insecurity, inequality and unfairness.

But it is in these times of insecurity that the values of trade unions and the Labour movement are most important. This Labour Government has been at our best when we have believed in our values. Our core belief is that we all do better for ourselves and our families if we look after each other.

We cannot; most of us, provide our own schools, colleges and hospitals. And we believe that good government has the power to shape society for the better and to step in when people need our help.

These are values and beliefs the Trade Union movement shares with the Labour Government. More important, these values and beliefs are shared by the majority of the British people.

This is why we are different to the Tories. They don't share our values or the values of the British people. They don't believe in the power or the responsibility of government to step in to help change people's lives.

These values and beliefs give you, and us, the power to shape Britain for the better. Power that must be used both effectively and responsibly.

These are times of great change. We know that there are real difficulties but also real opportunities.

Take construction. The industry today is experiencing great difficulties in house building. But look just a few years into the future; we know that we will need many more skilled people working in construction than we have today.

In part this is because of Government investment. In the Olympics, in Crossrail, in housing as well as in new schools, colleges and hospitals. And in part as the government sets the framework for new jobs in energy; from nuclear to renewable. All of this will demand more, not fewer, skilled people.

So we have to tackle the problems of today while making sure we are prepared for the opportunities of the future.

That's why we don't want to lose young, skilled trainees from the industry. So we have set up a clearing house so that construction apprentices at risk of redundancy are matched with new employers to allow them to complete the remainder of their training.

Together with DWP and DEFRA we are also making sure that anyone who might lose their jobs in house building is able to take up new, skilled opportunities - insulating homes and businesses and improving energy efficiency across the country.

That's why last week we launched a programme to help home buyers, social housing and the housing market.

In the past construction has been kept afloat by the uncertain and fluctuating pool of migrant labour. In the future we must make sure that many more young people in Britain get the training that will make sure that they get the new jobs.

So with employers we have agreed that construction will create 42,000 new apprenticeships by 2012. These apprenticeships will provide proper training, in real jobs so that we can build the sector's future and that of its workforce.

To make sure they do, we are creating a new taskforce with major employers and unions so that we make sure that construction training works as effectively as possible: expanding apprenticeships and radically improving training opportunities. And we will make sure that every year we use the power of Government contracts - the purchase of over £150 billion of products and services to insist that these opportunities are available to all.

And I want to acknowledge UCATT's role in helping to shape our work on apprenticeships and training in the sector.

In the Labour movement, we have always known that education and skills are one of the most powerful levers to improve social mobility. We know that if we help an adult improve their skills, their children are more likely to succeed too.

It is too easy to forget what we inherited from the Tories.

Seven million people unable to read and write.

Since 2001 over 2 million adults have been helped with literacy and numeracy.

But we will not stop there. We will make sure that no adult in this country is deprived of the opportunities to learn to read to write or to gain new skills in the workplace. Working together, bringing education to people who have been written off - and changing their lives.

What do the majority of our young people want today?

They want the chance to go to university or to get a high quality apprenticeship or training that will lead to a good job.

Under Labour, 300,000 people have had the chance to go to university who would have been denied that opportunity under the Tories. They believe that too many of other people's children go to university.

We all know that apprenticeships were practically destroyed in the 1990s. When David Cameron was advising Norman Lamont at the Treasury there was not a single penny available to support apprenticeships.

But we have rescued apprenticeships. We have trebled the number of people taking them up since 1997. Over 60% of people now complete their apprenticeships compared to just over 20% a few years ago.

We will go on to make sure that they are a mainstream option for all young people and for adults in England. Within the next decade 1 in 5 young people will be able to take up an apprenticeship.

We are creating a National Apprenticeships Service. By 2010 we will be spending over £1 billion to support employers and apprentices properly. We are slashing bureaucracy without lowering standards so that over 140,000 people complete apprenticeships in 2010. And with our Apprenticeships Bill we will make clear exactly what every apprentice and employer can expect from each other and from us.

As a result of new investment in the last Budget, and decisions I've recently taken for this autumn - and for the first time - we are giving every 18 year old a right to public funding so that they can continue their training and education; at university or at college; in work or an apprenticeship - until they are 25 or they get a level 3 qualification.

This is something that no Government has ever been able to say before;

A promise of support to all young people. Because everyone has talent. Everyone has the right to support to develop that talent to get as far in life as their abilities and ambitions can take them.

For adults we are also doing more. Together we are bringing about a change in the culture. Step by step we are entrenching peoples' rights to learn - in law. We have given new rights to millions of people.

The right to basic skills. The right to study skills needed for better jobs. The right for young people to take an apprenticeship, if that's what suits them. The right for young people to keep training and studying into their twenties, so they can achieve level 3 qualifications as technicians and skilled professionals. All of this free for those who need it.

And especially when times are tight, this Labour Government believes in the right to carry on learning. Because it's what we have always believed. It is part of our Labour tradition - from Ruskin and Morris in the 19th century to Jenny Lee and Harold Wilson's determination to create the Open University in the 1960s.

So this Government will make it a right to request time for training. It will cover around 22 million workers. They will be able to request anything that will help them do their jobs better - from an IT course to a degree. And this is not a soft option. It has the potential to completely transform the culture of workplaces across England.

It will be a system that works for individuals whether you are stacking shelves or selling software. Where each employee understands that they have rights. To maternity or paternity leave; to flexible working; and now, to learning too. And in the workplace, who better to ensure that these rights are taken up than you?

None of this should allow any employer to ignore the opportunity or their responsibility. In a rapidly changing world, a business strategy based on standing still is not going to work. Most businesses and public services know this well enough. But a third of employers still offer no training at all. This must change.

These rights are shaped by our values together in the Labour movement. That's why many have been helped by Union Learning Representatives and through Unionlearn. Over 20,000 Union Learning Representatives in the workplace today. Best friends in the workplace - colleagues that can advise, support and even coerce you into doing the right thing. A fantastic return on the investment this Government introduced.

With your help thousands of employers have signed the skills pledge. To make sure that every employee without good basic skills and qualifications has the opportunity to get them. Four and a half thousand employers covering nearly five million employees have signed up. And I know that Union Learning Reps will help get more employers using Train to Gain as the best way of acting on the Pledge and ensuring real and lasting impact.

Train to Gain clearly works: 78% of employers who had taken up training through the service would recommend it to other employers; 43% of people who completed training received a pay rise, 30% were promoted and 69% hope to continue studying.

And the Tories want to all but abolish it. They want to take away training from thousands of people who don't have qualifications. By cutting £1 billion pounds from Train to Gain they would deny up to a million people the opportunity to get training and to get on in their lives. At a stroke, undermining the work of Unionlearn and thousands of Union Learning Reps.

They would cut £1 billion from Train to Gain. And they would spend £1 billion on cutting inheritance tax for 3,000 families. The same old Tories. Nothing has changed.

And let's be clear - with this decision the Tories would undermine all of the rights for adults to train. Rights that are important for all training.

Last year we referred the exemption of apprentices from the National Minimum Wage to the Low Pay Commission. Today the average apprentice is paid over £170 a week. Without prejudicing the work of the Low Pay Commission, I am announcing today that in England, minimum apprenticeship pay will rise from £80 to £95 per week during next year.

It will be young women - apprentices like those in hairdressing and care - who will benefit most.

Congress, to finish I want to remind you of what we have achieved when we have worked together. Our Labour movement has introduced radical changes to workplaces throughout the country.

More apprenticeships, more training, more rights in the workplace, more opportunities for everybody to get on in their lives. Changes that have affected millions of people - improved their wages and their careers and transforming the life chances of them and their children.

In 1997, when Britain's problems were largely self-inflicted, Labour made the link between individual opportunity and social responsibility to achieve great changes. Today, many of the challenges we face are from outside with dramatic global changes to our economy and society.

But our values are just as important today. We have a responsibility to help people and communities - not just to weather the storm, but to transform their lives.

This power to change lives is in our hands. More than ever, these are the same Labour values and the same belief in the proper role of good government that Britain needs in today's world where the most pressing problems often have international roots. Together we still have a job to do - to show why the values of the Labour movement are as important today as they were 11 years ago.

I am proud of what we have done. And I know that you are too.

But we haven't finished yet. There is so much more that we can and must achieve. Let's do it together.

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