Speaking at the launch of the paper in Downing Street today, Minister for the Cabinet Office Liam Byrne, who will take part in a Number10 webchat on the New Opportunities White Paper on 20 January, said that the proposed investment was vital “if our future performance is to match our future potential”.
Mr Brown spoke about the new opportunities that will arise in Britain as up to a billion skilled jobs are created worldwide in the coming years and said he wished to “encourage the aspirations people have”.
The PM said:
“During this global economic downturn we must continue to invest in people so they have a fair chance to achieve their potential. The world economy is set to double and the expansion of digital and green industries will offer new opportunities. We must be ready to seize these opportunities and ensure that these better jobs can be captured by everyone.”
Proposals in the paper include offering teachers a payment of £10,000 to work at under-performing secondary schools, extending free nursery and childcare places to 15 percent of the most disadvantaged families with two-year-olds, and a guarantee that vulnerable mothers will have access to a dedicated family nurse to help them through pregnancy and the first two years of childhood.
Yesterday Mr Brown revealed plans to invest £500 million in new measures aimed at helping people gain new skills and return to employment. Last week he also announced an £140 million expansion in Government-funded apprenticeships that will take the total number of apprentices in Britain to more than 250,000 by 2010.
Go to the New Opportunities White Paper website (external link)
Read the New Opportunities press release on the Cabinet Office website (external link)
