"I am a great believer in the importance of practical skills. The teacher I remember most—he is still alive and I met him a couple of years ago—was George Ellis, who taught me woodwork. George had a great talent, with children of any ability—hon. Members may make jokes about my …..." Andrew Miller - View Speech
"I am aware that it is going regional, but it is still not yet of such a scale that we can say that every school has bought into it. That should be our target: to help Engineering UK to achieve just that.
"I add to the hon. Gentleman’s list the Rolls-Royce awards. This year’s winner is a primary school from Belfast. It is an inspiring project that the youngsters and teachers have been engaged in, but the key there was the partnership between the company and the school to bring the technical …..." Andrew Miller - View Speech
"For the benefit of Hansard, girl is spelled G-R-R-L and such is the importance of the subject, they are tweeting the debate...." Andrew Miller - View Speech
"May I plead with the Minister to alter a sentence she has just delivered? When she was describing the move from the post-16 technical baccalaureate, she said “or the academic alternative”. No, it should not be “the academic alternative”. It may be an arts or social science alternative, but she …..." Andrew Miller - View Speech
"Thank you, Mr Walker. I thank all hon. Members who have contributed to this important debate. It is great to see that there is a high degree of cross-party consensus on the matter, and I certainly concur with the Minister’s closing remark that we should carry on working with her …..." Andrew Miller - View Speech
"At midnight tonight, the Science and Technology Committee will publish its report on engineering skills. Clearly, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on its content just now, but will the Secretary of State give me an assurance that he will read it very carefully? It is an evidence-based …..." Andrew Miller - View Speech
"The Minister kindly appeared before the Select Committee on Science and Technology and gave evidence in our inquiry into engineering skills, which will be published shortly. In taking that evidence, we covered some of the ground being explored today. Will she now give a commitment that before she closes her …..." Andrew Miller - View Speech
"During the consultation, will the Secretary of State listen carefully, particularly to the engineering industry, which is concerned about the artificial divides that have crept in between vocational and academic qualifications? We all need to develop some practical skills—even the Secretary of State needs to learn how to use a …..." Andrew Miller - View Speech