West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed efforts to turn on the tap for talent with a leading apprenticeship programme. The MP met with apprentices working with Severn Trent at an event in the House of Commons and repeated her support for the National Apprenticeship Week initiative. The company has taken on 61 new apprentices last year working across the Midlands in well-paid engineering roles. Harriett also chatted to Severn Trent chief executive Liv Garfield and discussed some of the recent challenges faced by the company during the sudden cold snap. Harriett commented: “I have always been a supporter of apprenticeship programmes and there are some really strong local employers across the Midlands who make the best use of apprenticeships to get access to the best talent. “It was helpful to chat to Liv Garfield and hear how apprentices help her business and how it is using the apprenticeship levy to spend over a million pounds on developing local skilled workers. “This work is helping to deliver more skilled engineers and I am happy to celebrate the efforts of the company. “I also got a useful update from Severn Trent after the cold weather caused serious interruptions in water supplies and hope that those affected are now back connected and will be properly compensated.” Photo: Severn Trent CEO Liv Garfield, apprentices Heeran Basi, Georgia Brown and Jazz Panesar, with Harriett Baldwin MP.