Andy Burnham has said we need to value the hard hat as much as the graduation cap, and he’s right.

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I think most people agree… Britain’s shortage of skilled tradespeople is hardly a new discovery, and governments of all colours have been saying so for years.

He's right that we need to rebuild the ladders of opportunity that once connected young people to skilled trades and well-paid careers. But more warm words and rousing speeches from Oxbridge-educated politicians about how young people need opportunities aren’t enough.

The frustrating reality is that while government talks about apprenticeships and technical education, training providers and businesses willing to invest and deliver are often tied up in endless bureaucracy.

I am a plumbing and heating engineer by trade, and everything I have achieved has been built on the opportunities that industry gave me. I didn't follow a traditional academic path; instead, I learned a skilled trade, built a profession, and ultimately created a business that now employs tradespeople and apprentices of its own. Those........

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