Labour MP Lucy Rigby has highlighted the importance of businesses investing in young people, skills and good jobs during a visit to JPMorgan’s Corporate Campus in Bournemouth.
Rigby, the MP for Northampton North, visited the site alongside Bournemouth East Labour MP Tom Hayes, meeting apprentices and young people beginning their careers with the global financial services company.
The visit focused on the international operations run from JPMorgan’s Bournemouth campus, as well as the company’s investment in its local workforce and opportunities for young people in the South West.
Writing on X following the visit, Rigby said investment by businesses in local talent was an example of the kind of economic growth Labour wants to deliver across the country.
“Businesses investing in local talent, young people developing new skills & more good jobs being created in communities all over the country – that’s what growth in every postcode looks like,” she said.
Rigby added: “Today I’ve been at JPMorgan in Bournemouth with Tom Hayes, learning more about the global operations run from the bank’s Corporate Campus & hearing from the apprentices & young people at the start of their careers here in the South West.”
The visit comes as the Labour Government puts skills, apprenticeships and employment opportunities for young people at the centre of its plans to drive economic growth.
Ministers have repeatedly stressed that economic growth must be felt beyond London and benefit communities in every part of the country, with businesses playing an important role in providing training and routes into skilled employment.
For Bournemouth and the wider South West, major employers such as JPMorgan provide jobs across a range of financial, technology and professional services roles.
Hayes, who represents the area in Parliament, joined Rigby in speaking with employees about their experiences and the opportunities available to those starting their careers.
Rigby said the combination of private-sector investment, skills development and the creation of good jobs demonstrated what the Government means by delivering “growth in every postcode”.
The visit also underlined Labour’s emphasis on working with employers to ensure young people have access to the skills and career opportunities needed to benefit from economic growth.
