THE Chancellor continued his constituency tour by paying a visit to Barclays Radbroke Centre to hear how the bank is boosting the skills of young people in the region.

Mr Osborne and Barclays Chairman Sir David Walker were joined by Year 9 students from five schools from across the region at the Barclays Technology Centre Radbroke on December 13.

 

The students, from Knutsford Academy, Manchester Academy, Poynton High School, St Thomas Boteler High School and Wilmslow High School, pitched ideas to senior IT executives from Barclays as part of the ‘Tech Innovation’ programme.

The programme aims to help young people understand how IT is applied in a real work environment. Project teams from each school, supported by a Barclays Mentor, have developed solutions or products to meet IT-related scenarios and Friday spelled the programme’s climatic end.

The Tatton MP said: “I am delighted to see first-hand the work Barclays is doing with school children and apprentices. It is equipping young people with the skills of the future that Britain will win the global race.”

During the visit, the Chancellor and Sir David Walker also met some of the 200 young people who have been hired into the Barclays Technical Apprenticeship Programme in the past three years.

At the Knutsford site, the company has employed nearly 165 young people on Advanced Apprenticeships in Business Administration, IT, and Web and Telecom Professional, which are developed in conjunction with Mid-Cheshire College.

Barclays Chairman Sir David Walker said: “At Barclays our doors are always open for people who are prepared to learn the ropes, work hard and provide great service to our customers even if they have not had a job before, because we want them to go on and develop fulfilling careers.

“Here in Cheshire, we are leading initiatives which we believe contribute to a sustainable eco-system of technology skills and talent development that encourages people to identify and define a successful career in technology.”