Chief Minister's adoption of GSD policy, says Phillips

The community will recall that it was the Opposition who first announced its apprenticeship policy in October 2015 just before the last election. Since then the Opposition has relentlessly and persistently pursued its progressive policy on creating a modern apprenticeship and skills programme for our young people.

Elliott Phillips has regularly raised this issue in and outside Parliament. In 2016 Mr Phillips led on a motion inviting the Government to support the Opposition’s Apprenticeship and Skills Programme. He urged Parliament that all members needed to focus on developing a training and skills programme through an apprenticeship scheme which delivered on the demands for traditional skills as well as new modern skills.

In 2016 Mr Phillips said:

“We must not as a Parliament underestimate the strength of feeling on this issue and I would invite the Government to join us and the rest of the community and actively explore ways in which we can together develop an apprenticeship programme which meets the wider needs of our community.”

Regrettable the Government could not see past its own political interests and rejected Mr Phillips Apprenticeships Motion in 2016.

The Chief Minister in his 2019 NY Message unequivocally accepted that the Government’s previous policy has failed abysmally. The CM’s message is a complete vindication of the hard work done by the Opposition in this area.

In response Elliott Phillips said:

“Although I welcome the Chief Minister's full adoption of the GSD’s apprenticeship policy he has wasted very valuable time and condemned a generation of young people to a serious lack opportunity of skilled work. Instead of engaging in petty patio politics he should have constructively supported my motion which could have depoliticized the issue and seen the Government and Opposition work together for the good of community and our young people. Instead he has put party politics and his narrow interests above the interests of our community and importantly young people. Young people deserve better”.

09-01-19 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR