ASSISTING YOUNG people in gaining apprenticeships, creating work experience opportunities for them at large corporate companies and encouraging entrepreneurship are all part of the Government’s strategy to help them succeed in life. The person responsible for this is Communities Minister Lord Tariq Ahmad whose vision for Britain is an integrated society with young people at the heart of it. Here he writes exclusively for The Voice on how he wants to achieve his vision.

When you have children, your world-view changes. The most pressing concern in life is no longer your own job, health or happiness – it’s those little ones who now mean everything to you.

When my father came to this country, he worked his knuckles to the bone to give his children the best possible start and now that I have three children of my own I too want to provide them with everything they need to live long, happy and successful lives.

I want them to get on by working hard at school, become empowered by getting a good job and to feel an important and welcome part of whichever local community they decide to call home.

INTENTIONS

Every parent wants the best in life for their child but occasionally, despite the best of intentions, it doesn’t pan out quite how you’d imagined it. Sometimes, it can feel that children are slipping through the net.

But one of life’s joys is that, through hard work, the chance of a better future is within our grasp and over the past four years, this Government has sought to create an environment based on opportunities for all.

We are committed to creating a society where everyone can get ahead, regardless of background or who they know. We want to help all of our children reach their full potential and succeed in life.

That’s why my department, Communities and Local Government, has helped 6,000 young people from over 120 schools learn about business through Mosaic’s Enterprise Challenge competition – a national competition that aims to inspire understanding and enthusiasm about business amongst young people.

We’ve extended this with Opening Doors across London, where we’ve provided six-month training courses to young entrepreneurs to take their first steps, giving them the tools to follow their own ideas rather than fit into the structure of an existing employer.

We’ve also provided 800 young people with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience with over 25 prestigious industrial firms such as Jaguar Land Rover through Industrial Cadets. Under this Government the amount of apprenticeship opportunities has also doubled – empowering two million more talented and hard-working young people and offering the chance to build the career they deserve.

RESPONSIBILITY

Through our Youth United programme we’ve given more than 11,700 more young people the opportunity to learn valuable life-skills like leadership and responsibility through over 600 new Scouts, Guide and Cadet units in areas where youth volunteering organisations had only a limited presence.

But creating a society where everyone can succeed isn’t just about education. It’s about bringing people together from all sections of society. Making sure that people recognise and celebrate diversity, yet are united in shared British values based on mutual respect.

And local communities have also taken up the mantle brilliantly, helped by our Near Neighbours funding. Using the community care of the Church of England, local communities have come together, uniting people of all faiths and none and worked hard to create more opportunities for their families, friends and neighbours around them.

People like the Somali Bravanese Welfare Association in London who have worked with the Jewish community to put on local events, or the Lozells Methodist Church in Birmingham who’ve started a multi-faith women’s group to break down barriers. Across the whole programme more than 281,000 people have benefited already.

We all want the best for our children and by giving them opportunities to grasp and creating an integrated society, this Government can help them reach their full potential.

* Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon is a Conservative Member of the House of Lords and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government with a portfolio covering housing, community integration and reforms.