A great honour to have visited Portcullis House on Monday to attend an event from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Modernising Employment about hiring practices and their impact on young people which was titled “Reimagining Hiring for the Next Generation”.

I attended the event with fellow members of the Yorkshire SEND Alliance as the arena of employment is a key concern for the region’s SEND and wider community. It was fantastic to hear the experiences of neurodivergent young people being mentioned by other attendees in the contributions and to have made a contribution myself about what work has been done so far in these areas.

Yorkshire’s talent pool is as diverse in as many ways as Yorkshire itself. Monday’s discussions showed the different perspectives in viewing hiring practices in the context of the transformative changes in AI and the wider economy; therefore comprehensive solutions must be made to ensure everyone feels valued and talent does not become wasted at anyone’s expense.

I am thankful for this opportunity and support in visiting Parliament with such amazing people and stakeholders who are so resilient and fantastic. Let us build on this moment to continue such constructive dialogue and ensure that everyone can take part.