McLaren investment will tackle Neets issue - minister
The carmaker says its UK investment will create 1,000 jobs by 2032, including at its Woking base.
**McLaren investment will tackle Neets issue - minister**
A cabinet minister has said carmaker McLaren’s investment in its UK facilities is a “huge opportunity” to address the “Neets crisis” in Surrey.
The carmaker has announced a £500m investment in its UK facilities, including its Woking headquarters, which it says will create 1,000 jobs by 2032.
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said McLaren “and the kind of opportunities that it offers on people’s doorstep in Woking” could help the near one million UK young people not in employment, education or training (Neet).
Their situation became a national talking point after a government report in May warned of the “risk of a lost generation”.
Haigh, who oversees the work of the cabinet, told the BBC that apprentices at the Surrey factory “talk about how this is their dream job”.
She said: “Having this here already, and this enormous investment and expansion, is a huge opportunity and ambition for young people here in Woking.”
Woking MP Will Forster said McLaren’s expansion was “creating new jobs and providing great opportunities for local young people”.
“This is great news for Woking and a huge endorsement of the business environment for the town,” he said.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC the investment was “great news for Woking” and also “a big vote of confidence in the UK economy”.
Burnham, Haigh and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds visited the McLaren Technology Centre to promote the investment.
The £500m will be spent across McLaren’s UK sites, including its Woking production centre and its carbon fibre manufacturing facility in South Yorkshire.
The manufacturer said the spending could create a further 3,000 supply chain jobs. It will also allow an expansion of vehicle assembly capabilities and enable the firm to build its engines in-house.
Burnham, Haigh and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds visited the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking to mark the announcement.
It was the prime minister’s first public engagement since the death of his father.
Burnham spoke with staff and apprentices before posing behind the wheel of a W1 supercar, while a worker talked him through its features.