Employment figures are soaring in Crawley

Last week I hosted Virgin Atlantic, one of the many world-leading companies based in Crawley, in the House of Commons. The event was to mark their investment in a new fleet of Airbus A350s and I welcomed the chance to learn more about their commitment to greener flying.
The Constituency View with Henry Smith MP SUS-170126-103725001The Constituency View with Henry Smith MP SUS-170126-103725001
The Constituency View with Henry Smith MP SUS-170126-103725001

Also in attendance was the Aviation Minister, Lord Ahmad, and it was great to welcome pilots, cabin crew and apprentices from Virgin Atlantic, Airbus and Rolls-Royce, who supply the engine which is designed to be 30 per cent more fuel and carbon efficient than existing fleet.

Of course, Virgin Atlantic is just one example of Crawley-based firms continuing to prosper.

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The number of people locally claiming out of work benefits since 2010 has decreased by 1,800 – a fall of 65 per cent.

While this is welcome news there is of course more to be done. To see more people in work, our local businesses and indeed companies across the country, need to continue to flourish. It is through corporate success that we’ll see higher employment.

Across the country over the last seven years, more than 70 per cent of the rise in employment has been from full time work. Additionally, 95 per cent of the growth in employment has come from permanent employees or people working for themselves.

Figures I recently requested from the Business Secretary show that for each year from 2010 to 2015, the number of active enterprises in Crawley increased. Over the course of this time period the number increased by more than 600 to over 3,600.

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As I mentioned earlier, there is more to be done. This is why I will be hosting the 2017 Crawley Apprenticeship & Jobs Fair at the Civic Hall on Monday 27th March, 10am-3pm. The event is free of charge to all and is designed to provide an opportunity to meet and speak with key local employers. For more information please visit: www.crawleyjobsfair.co.uk