Steve Rotheram accused the Conservative government of “vandalism” as he showcased his bricklaying skills today.
The Metro Mayor was a bricklayer before entering politics. Today, Mr Rotheram visited bricklaying students at the City of Liverpool College on Vauxhall Road as part of Colleges Week, which celebrates the work of further education colleges.
After showcasing his bricklaying skills to the students, he criticised the Government’s approach to apprenticeships. The apprenticeship levy has been labelled as a “3.5bn” mistake by some industry figures, arguing the funds can only be spent on specific types of training.
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Mr Rotheram said: “One of the reasons that I went to the Tory party conference in Manchester was to take the fight to them, because at this moment in time they're the government, so they're making the decisions. And I spoke to Gillian Keegan, who is from Huyton. I said we can do an awful lot more to get more people from areas like ours into really good jobs, but they need the training, they need the skills, they need the qualifications.
“We've got companies that we know are desperate for people. We've got massive skill shortages.
“We've got colleges like this in Liverpool and across the whole of the city region who've got capacity to train people, with the right type of tutors, with the right qualifications. So we've got all the infrastructure.
“The last thing that we need is government support. And yet there's a massive underspend, billions of pounds in the apprenticeship levy that is not being spent on apprentices.
“And I think that's a crying shame. I think it's an absolute act of vandalism by the government.”
Mr Rotheram, who met with Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson during the Labour Party conference this week, called on a potential Labour Government to do things differently. He said there is a “need for a Labour government to look at doing things differently with the money that's already there, in the pot, it's already in the kitty now.”
He added: “So what are we going to do? Well, it's going to be more to do with skills and apprenticeship levy, looking at growth areas, looking at where we need more people because there are skill shortages.
“So I can't wait to work with a future Labour government if and when a general election is called and if and when Labour win that general election, I want to work with a future Secretary of State who absolutely understands areas like ours.”
Mr Rotheram offered advice to trainee bricklayers, urging them to be confident on sites and said the skills of working with others and problem solving can be utilised in other occupations. Meanwhile, he said being a bricklayer again was as natural as riding a bike.
Despite acknowledging the dangers of building sites, he argued the trade had taken him to “weird and wonderful places”. He said: “I was in the Falklands for, that was the place that I ended up in, for eight months.
“It was very desolate at the time - no TV, one radio station which was the British Forces Broadcasting Station, and you couldn't even telephone home, you had to book a phone call.
“So, a really, really strange experience, but formative, and it makes you appreciate when you do get back, all of the things that perhaps other people take for granted.”
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