Everyone deserves the opportunity to get on and thrive in the world of work, and so it is imperative that we all work together to give our youngsters the chance to develop the skills they need to get into employment.

That is why I have teamed up with the local Department for Work and Pensions, and my fellow MPs Elizabeth Truss and Sir Henry Bellingham, to launch jobs initiatives in our local areas this past week.

Elizabeth and I held events in Thetford and Dereham respectively to launch Breckland for Jobs, while Sir Henry launched West Norfolk for Jobs in King’s Lynn. Over 100 employers attended the three events, and already many of them have expressed an interest in working with the initiatives to help unemployed youngsters between 18-24 years of age – whether that be by offering CV advice, mock interviews, work experience or even, in some cases, a job, traineeship or an apprenticeship.

By connecting our region’s youngsters with local employers, we hope to help further reduce youth unemployment in our area and boost our local economy – and a number of other local charities and initiatives (including the Prince’s Trust, icanbea…, On Track, Your Own Place, Futures and Kickstart) have got behind the schemes to provide additional support to those youngsters who are involved.

I look forward to continuing my support of Breckland for Jobs, and if YOU are a local business or employer (no matter how big or small) and interested in exploring whether you might be able to offer some support to the initiative, please do get in touch.