Ritchie urges Chancellor to support apprenticeships

SDLP MP for South Down, Margaret Ritchie, has pressed the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to give businesses in Northern Ireland the support they need to take on more apprentices.

Ritchie stated, “If the Government is truly serious about increasing productivity and reducing unemployment in Northern Ireland, they must provide our businesses with the support they need to take on new apprentices.

“From my work with employers in South Down, and indeed through Northern Ireland, it is clear that businesses are enthusiastic about offering new apprenticeships and that the only missing piece is proper financial support.

“The Chancellor must learn that renewing and rebuilding the Northern Irish economy cannot be done simply through the devolution of corporation tax.

“We support the devolution of corporation tax as vital step in ensuring Northern Ireland’s business competitiveness, but we cannot accept the Treasury using delays in devolution as an excuse for ignoring the other equally important measures needed to grow our economy, such as reducing both air passenger duty and VAT on tourism,” she added.

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Posted by Newry Times News on Jan 27 2016. Filed under Business, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry