Why Hull apprentices at Vivergo are asking Keir Starmer to save their jobs: Ben Hackett

I consider it our responsibility to provide opportunities for young people who live locally. Since opening in 2012, our bioethanol plant has supported apprenticeships and internships for over two dozen people, mostly from the Hull area, and I’m proud to say that many of these people are still part of the team today.

You can therefore imagine my concern when we learned that, as part of the trade deal currently being negotiated with the US, tariffs will be removed on imports of US bioethanol – a move which could effectively sink the UK industry. We are now in the position that, without government support and improvements to regulation which ensure we can remain competitive, our plant in Hull will be forced to close.

This would be a hammer blow, not just to the young people we have already supported, but also for those still at school – in Hull and beyond - who are attracted by the idea of good green local jobs and the development opportunities they can offer. Let us be clear, there are few better job opportunities for someone growing up in this area.

At a time when the government should be doing all it can to help young people into good work, it is instead sending them the message that it is not willing to stand up for UK industries which foster these vital green skills. This is an industry that should be part of Britain’s exciting green industrial future; the skills development we can offer – in everything from engineering, digital software development, environmental management - will be lost forever if the plant isn't saved.

The impact of this would be severe. Our plant was mothballed once before, back in 2018. On that occasion many of our skilled former employees were forced to leave Hull for alternative work, with some moving as far afield as Malawi. Thankfully, when we reopened in 2022 many of those skilled staff came back, but the current prospect of closure threatens their future here in East Yorkshire. A government which claims to believe in the regions must do all it can to avoid a brain drain in the north of England.

Opportunities for young people are looking increasingly bleak across the country. Over a third of job vacancies in the UK remain unfilled due to skills shortages. Since 2011, employer investment in training has fallen by 27 per cent in real terms. Vivergo is proud to stand against that trend. We have already invested millions in making these jobs a reality, and providing the training which comes with them. A third of our workforce are degree qualified and almost a further half hold vocational qualifications - many of which we have supported them to achieve.

These are highly talented young people, who want the opportunity to work hard in good local employment. Jobs which should be the cornerstone of the government’s green industrial strategy. We should be holding up stories like theirs as examples to the next generation.

They should not be having to make the long journey to the Prime Minister’s door to be heard. But I hope he listens.

Ben Hackett is managing director of Vivergo Fuels