Richard Quigley, MP for Isle of Wight West, has highlighted efforts to tackle skills shortages and create opportunities for young people on the Isle of Wight during a panel discussion with fellow MPs.
Mr Quigley was invited to speak at an event hosted by the Resolution Foundation, where he discussed the work of the Isle of Wight Skills Group and its efforts to bring together local employers, education providers and community organisations.
The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank dedicated to lifting living standards across the UK. It invited Mr Quigley to take part in a discussion on ‘tackling the UK’s NEETs challenge’.
He was joined on the cross-party panel by Employment Minister Andrew Western MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Helen Whately MP and Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesperson Steve Darling MP.
Mr Quigley’s Skills Group consists of a steering group of around 8 Isle of Wight businesses, alongside a wider network of more than 25 employers.
Working closely with his office, the group helps create work experience opportunities for local young people while supporting businesses to develop placements aimed at providing skills, confidence and pathways into employment.
During the discussion, Mr Quigley spoke about how he has used his position as MP since being elected in July 2024 to bring employers, education providers and community partners together around a shared skills agenda.
He also acknowledged challenges posed by the Isle of Wight’s changing demographics while highlighting opportunities for growth in advanced technology and engineering and the career pathways those sectors could offer local people.
Richard Quigley has said:
“Per capita the Isle of Wight is the leading place to be in advanced technology and engineering, so we’ve got some good pedigree and a lot to be proud of.
“But we’ve got this real problem that we don’t have enough young people. So, what I’ve done is we’ve got a core group of businesses together and told them that they don’t need to do any work, I think part of the secret is ensuring that they acknowledge that we have a problem that they can play a part in solving.”
Mr Quigley’s appearance comes ahead of his office’s next Skills Summit, which is due to take place in early October.
The event will provide an opportunity to review progress made since the 2025 Skills Summit and identify further steps to strengthen skills, training and employment opportunities across the Isle of Wight.
Mr Quigley plans to continue promoting the Isle of Wight’s skills agenda to colleagues across Parliament and beyond, using the Skills Group to create more work experience opportunities and increase access to apprenticeships and T-Level placements for local young people.
