A Nescot student, who last year recommended the Government should offer apprenticeships to recession-hit youngsters, saw his efforts brought to life earlier this month.
Amadou Bah, a member of the National Learner Panel, was invited by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to the Backing Young Britain exhibition in Birmingham on September 2.
The panel advises the Government on the interests of youngsters in education and training.
Mr Brown used the exhibition, held at Birmingham City Football Club, to announce the creation of 85,000 new jobs and training opportunities for unemployed youngsters.
Half of these will be in the public sector, with the rest offered by some of Britain’s biggest companies.
Mr Bah said: “Companies like Nissan, Virgin and Microsoft all said the extra help had seen them increase apprentice numbers.
“Mr Brown and I talked about the effects of the downturn on this generation of young people and he said he was keen to give more power to bodies like the National Learner Panel as we bring frontline experience to central Government.”
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