MP Victoria Prentis visited an academy in Bicester to learn more about its apprenticeship programmes.

The MP for Banbury attended the Bicester Heritage Skills Academy on October 20 to see how the scheme is providing career opportunities for the next generation of heritage engineers.

Speaking afterwards, Ms Prentis said: “I really enjoyed a fascinating visit to the Heritage Skills Academy in Bicester where I met managing director John Pitchforth along with operations manager Janice Pitchforth.

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“Mr Pitchforth founded the academy in 2015 in response to what he saw was a widening skills gap in the restoration industry.

“His academy delivers an exceptional apprenticeship programme focused on upskilling younger people so they can thrive and succeed in the job market.

“It was great to speak to many of the apprentices who were busy working on classic cars in the workshop.

“They were all so enthusiastic about the unique skills they were learning.

"It is great to see such cutting-edge work being carried out here in Bicester.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1