This morning, I had a really interesting time at Kirkstall Forge leaning about CEG’s ‘Forging Futures’ Project. This is a brilliant initiative, which provides vocational training site visits and work experience for students, local people and young people not in education, employment or training. Their goal is to train Leeds’s future crop of architects, bricklayers, civil engineers, joiners, plumbers and electricians. They offer a number of different schemes, including an employability skills course, professional apprentices and ‘The Skill Mill’. It was great hearing how they are planning for future development and how apprentices gain vital industry skills for employment.

I especially enjoyed meeting Ethan and hearing his experiences of finding an education and an employment pathway that worked for him. It was clear that everyone at CEG was tremendously proud of Ethan’s progress over the past 5 months, and I wish him every success in the future!