I RECENTLY had the pleasure of spending time with over a hundred A Level Economics students at Exeter College, speaking to them about the state of the UK economy and then joining them for a networking lunch at the excellent @34 restaurant.

It was a reminder that behind every statistic we debate in Westminster are real young people thinking hard about their futures.

I began by setting out where the country stands. Growth has been weak for far too long and productivity remains stubbornly low.

Recent figures show the economy barely inching forward, nowhere near the step change we need for higher wages and better living standards across Devon and the rest of the UK.

Inflation has caused deep and lasting pain to family budgets in recent years and, although the headline rate has dipped from its peak, core inflation is still running well above the two per cent target, squeezing households and making life difficult for businesses trying to plan investment.

We also talked about jobs. The national unemployment rate has climbed to around five per cent and is now at its highest for several years. For young people the picture is even more worrying.

Youth unemployment for 16 to 24 year olds is above 14 per cent and close to one million young people nationally are not in education, employment or training.

That is a huge waste of talent and human potential. Any government that claims to be serious about opportunity has to treat this as an urgent priority and, at present, that simply is not happening.

Apprenticeships should be a major part of the answer but policy has been inconsistent and short sighted.

While there are more than 760,000 people in England involved in apprenticeships, starts have bounced around from year to year and too many employers, especially smaller firms, find the system bureaucratic and confusing.

Higher level apprenticeships, including those equivalent to degrees and master’s degrees, have real potential yet they still do not reach enough young people in rural and smaller communities.

In Central Devon I want to see many more of these high quality routes into skilled jobs, but that requires a clear long term plan rather than stop start initiatives.

I was clear with students about where I believe the current government is getting it wrong.

Too often policy lurches around rather than providing the long term stability that employers and colleges require. Changes to training and skills funding are frequently announced without proper consultation with those on the front line.

Business taxes and regulation have become more complex just when we should be backing enterprise to create jobs and growth. Young people notice when warm words on skills and opportunity are not matched by clear, consistent action and they are right to be sceptical.

What encouraged me most at Exeter College was the quality of the questions. Students were rightly pressing on how we get public debt down without choking off growth, how we can invest in green industries while keeping energy affordable, and what a fair tax system looks like for their generation.

Engaging frankly with these issues is vital if we are to build an economy that works for every part of the country including our towns and villages in Central Devon.

I will keep listening to students, colleges and local employers as I develop proposals to boost skills, support good jobs and turn around an economy that needs a real shot in the arm.

Mel Stride

MP for Central Devon