Apprentice positions axed at troubled steel plant

The Liberty plant has been the subject of longstanding uncertainty with an insolvency court recently ordering the business into controlled liquidation. That has left the Government to pay the costs of keeping the Rotherham plant, and another at Stockbridge, going until a buyer can be found. But it has now emerged the official receiver has ‘released’ 30 apprentices, with Rotherham MP Sarah Champion speaking up defence of both the business and its workforce. She has promised to do all she can to help ensure the workforce has a future. Speaking following a Government statement on the Insolvency of Speciality Steel UK in the House of Commons, Ms Champion said: “As long as I have been an MP, I have been coming to this chamber to argue for support for Speciality Steel in my constituency. “Can I politely say to the Shadow Minister, the different response we have from this Government is night and day from what we had under the Conservatives. “... one of the first actions of the official receiver was to release approximately 30 apprentices due to start their training in the next few weeks. Can the Minister reassure the House that, not only will the Government commit to the business, but [recognise] that the business can only survive with the highly skilled, committed, professional staff and that the Minister is as committed to them as she is to the business?” Responding for the Government, the Minister for Industry, Sarah Jones said: “She is absolutely right that a number of apprentices who were due to start this week were told by the official receiver that given they couldn’t guarantee the twelve-month continuation of the apprentices, it was the right thing to do to try and find them other places to go for their apprenticeships.’ ‘“am taking a close personal interest in what happens to those people, the local authority and the DfE are trying to make sure we can find other places for them to go. “I want to make sure that we can, because one of the things this Government is very passionate about is ensuring our young people have the apprenticeships to give them the support for the jobs that we know we need into the future.” Ms Champion said: “Speciality Steels future success will be based on its highly skilled workforce, many of whom have been furloughed for months. “I was deeply concerned to hear that administrators had released apprentices just days before they were due to start their training.’ “I know that this will be a worrying time for workers at the Rotherham Speciality Steels plants. “I have been in discussions with Government ministers for months and have been assured of their commitment to businesses long term future and to its workforce. “I will be doing all that I can to hold them to their word and to provide the certainty workers need,” she said.