An entrepreneur whose companies are blazing a trail in hiring apprentices and pursuing net zero urged a leading Labour figure to prioritise both as he welcomed him to the council estate in Hull where he spent much of his childhood.
Daniel Haley told Darren Jones, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, that an apprenticeship changed his life 20 years ago and could do the same for young people on Boothferry Estate, where he still has family members and many friends.
He added that the homes in the area are examples of properties which could be retrofitted to meet net zero standards, generating work for businesses in the area and jobs for local people. He asked what Labour could do to remove the obstacles to progress.
Mr Jones joined Hull West and Hessle MP Emma Hardy for a meeting with business leaders and they then visited the HU4 community hub on the estate.
Mr Haley told of his career journey from completing his apprenticeship to being made redundant and then – 10 years ago when he was just 25 – setting up GW Power-Safe, which specialises in the design, installation and maintenance of building services and infrastructure and now employs 40 people. In 2022 he co-founded C3 Group, which is a leader in decarbonising buildings.
He said: “Because of my business activities I and my clients have some pain points around funding and how to reach net zero. I was keen to understand Labour’s stance and find out what is in the pipeline if they get into power because I want to make sure we are aligned with that. It was also interesting talking to other businesses about the issues with attracting talent into their sectors.
“Growing up I spent a lot of time in this area with family and friends. It has a lot of good people but not a lot of support. It’s very frustrating trying to get the young people round here to engage. I remember how important it was for me when I got my apprenticeship in 2004 – it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It provided the baseline to grow my own career and I will always have that to fall back on.
“I get so many people wanting to do them now that I don’t have the ability to take all of them on. I try my best to take a couple on every year but there has been a gap in the last few years with businesses not taking them on and we are seeing the effect of that with people struggling to get tradesmen. I’m looking for ways to remove the hassle and negativity from apprenticeships and get businesses pulling together.”
Ms Hardy said: “We will be a mission-led Labour government and our first mission will be to get the economy moving again. That’s why it was so important to come to Hull, talk to businesses who are at the forefront of new industries and technologies and who are active in more traditional sectors and find out more about their needs and priorities.
“By visiting Boothferry Estate we were also able to look closely at the connection between the community and the activities of business, which feeds into our commitment to make decisions that benefit the whole country and bring prosperity everywhere.”
Mr Jones said: “After 14 years of the wrong decisions on the economy from the Conservative Party, people and businesses are worse off. Labour’s plans will turn the economy around and unleash a decade of national renewal.
“Workers and businesses in and around Hull will benefit from our plans to get Britain building again, reduce energy bills, fix our NHS and revive our high streets.”
