CATCH Apprentices Attend 10 Downing Street Reception
Four apprentices from Stallingborough-based training provider CATCH attended a reception at 10 Downing Street, hosted by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer MP, to mark National Apprenticeship Week.
The students were invited after one of their number wrote to the PM to tell him about the value of apprenticeships and skills training in supporting the UK’s clean energy ambitions.
Emily Hasthorpe (pictured), now a second-year process operations apprentice employed by Lenzing Fibers in North East Lincolnshire, wrote to the Prime Minister on behalf of CATCH and the wider apprenticeship cohort.
Her letter highlighted the importance of high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships, hands-on technical skills, and sustained investment in training to secure the future workforce.
Emily and three other apprentices – Harry Hooton, a welding apprentice and world skills finalist employed by Blackrow, Shayden Rodgers, a pipe welder apprentice employed by GE Vernova, and Madeleine Cartwright, an electrical apprentice employed by Philips 66, attended the Opportunities for All: A National Apprenticeship Week Reception.
The event celebrated the role apprenticeships play in creating good jobs, supporting industry and strengthening communities across the UK.
Emily said:
“I wrote to the Prime Minister to invite him to visit our site, but I was instead honoured to be invited to Number 10 for National Apprenticeship Week.
“This provided a valuable opportunity to meet the Prime Minister, engage with representatives from a range of trades and companies, and raise awareness of the work carried out by Lenzing Fibers and my training provider CATCH.
“I am extremely grateful to CATCH for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – it has been amazing!”
Lisa Buck, Director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs at CATCH, said of the visit:
“We are incredibly proud of Emily and her fellow apprentices. It’s not every day you get to attend a reception at 10 Downing Street and meet the Prime Minister!
“This invitation recognises not only her confidence but also the voice of apprentices across our region who are working hard to build long-term careers in vital industries.
“Apprenticeships are about providing opportunities for all, developing lifelong skills and valuable hands-on experience, and Emily’s letter captured that perfectly.”
Lewis Crowther, Head of Business Development and Marketing at Blackrow, said:
“We are extremely proud to see Harry represent both Blackrow and the wider apprenticeship community at such a prestigious event. Apprenticeships play a vital role in developing the skilled workforce our industry depends on, and it’s great to see that recognised at a national level.
“Supporting young people into engineering careers is something we are deeply committed to, and opportunities like this show just how far an apprenticeship can take you.”
The invitation to Downing Street came during National Apprenticeship Week and underlines the growing recognition of apprentices as key contributors to the UK’s economic future and clean energy transition.