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Lord Vaizey appointed patron of ITP

People MSPs
ITP, the Institute of Telecom Professionals, has announced Lord Vaizey as the organisation’s official patron. His role is effective immediately and he will support the association’s ongoing initiatives around promoting the UK IT and telecoms industries, as well as raising awareness of their significant contribution to the country’s economy.

Lord Vaizey is the former Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He served as MP for Wantage between 2005 and 2019, and his time in Government involved overseeing the delivery of the UK’s rural broadband programme, the introduction of 4G, and tax credits for film, television, animation and video games.

Lord Vaizey said, “As an advocate for young people’s development and the digital industries, I am delighted to join ITP. Its unique vision of how to deliver apprenticeships will not only give young people the education and training they need in today’s competitive employment market, but will also help close the skills gaps we see in the UK’s digital industries.  The UK will need to work ever harder to keep at the forefront of the global economy, and apprenticeships have become increasingly important for the next generation of young people entering the workplace.”

Crissi Williams, CEO of the ITP, added, “We have a strong vision for ITP moving forward to build the UK’s digital talent pipeline. Through apprenticeships, mentoring and training, we intend to help close the UK’s digital skills gap, providing the workforce for tomorrow, for the benefit of UK Plc.  With his insights and expertise in IT and tech, and passion around young people’s education, we are looking forward to working closely with Lord Vaizey to help take the ITP to the next stage of its development.”

In his role of patron, Lord Vaizey will share the considerable insights he has from his experience in Government and offer his unique leadership perspectives to help develop ITP’s existing services even further, including apprenticeships, professional and career development, mentoring, professional registration and training.