The article in Gazette & Herald on August 13 by Luke Ives conceals some not so good information and is, in parts, economic with the truth.

I refer to the use of the New Homes Bonus funding, which was awarded to Ryedale District Council in 2012. Some of the money was designated to go to young people for apprenticeships in a variety of businesses and institutions.

All those people who applied for a grant were approved by our council officers.

However, although some of these succeeded in gaining funding, what the writer of the article omits to reveal, is that the Conservative group on Ryedale refused 33 young people an apprenticeship and thereby stopped them from having a job.

There was also some discrimination in the allocation of the money. While a first-class hotel received funding for an apprenticeship, a local cafe hoping to train an assistant, did not.

Opportunities for girls were similarly passed over by the majority group on the council.

We all agree that engineering is important, but why should the Conservatives decide who is worthy of funding and who is not?

There is a great need for practical, hands-on training for young people today and apprentceships are the way forward. We are desperately short of plumbers, electricians, joiners and many other skilled craftsmen and women, not only in North Yorkshire, but in the country generally.

Part of the reason for this is that some schools still encourage too many of their students to aim at for a university course, when, in fact, their gifts and talents lie in other directions.

While university courses are excellent, they are not for everyone.Furthermore, for those who do gain a degree, it does not automatically qualify for a job, but can also necessitate some specific training.

So, for those students with their recent A-level results, who are perhaps disappointed that they have not achieved the grades they hoped for, and therefore may not be accepted for a planned course, all is not lost.

Why not look for a local apprenticeship and earn while you learn? You can gain experience and achieve a very good qualification and a job at the end of the course.

Elizabeth Shields, Ryedale District Councillor for Norton