He was joined by TV superstar Laura Jane Clark for her thoughts – as well as Master Plumber and lecturer Jimmy Hendry for his thoughts!

Clark said: “Over a third of employers are struggling to fill positions with people with the right skills and nearly 90% have struggled getting or hiring young people and their confidence is at an all time low. In fact, the research shows only 7% of young people believe that they will get the job they want is just heart breaking.

“What’s awful is the mindset that some educators in schools have towards the trades. In my first day of education at university, I was told that if you end up designing kitchens then you will have failed as an architect and that’s what I do and have done my whole life. But I really hate that snobbish ide. Site work is one of the hardest work to master and I think some of these influencers are becoming the new rock stars and they are trying to show how you can put your skills to use and grow that into a career. One thing about the T-levels is that it covers all that. It covers design, financial management, engineering so that they can work out what career they want at a young age.”

A caller from the Carpentry Shop, noted: “It’s not about whether they can afford it as part of my criteria. I show them what I earn and how they can do the same if they work hard on the courses I offer? It’s up to them to put the financial effort in to gain the rewards. Simple, don’t rely on public money. If they really want it, let them fund it themselves like I do.”

And Jed Marshy said: “The money is safer with those that pay their wages and give of their time to train them. Agree!”

Hendry said: “I would say consultation with the awarding bodies needs to come first. I mean you could give it to employers, it may get lost or it may come through. You could give it to colleges, will it get distributed correctly, I don’t know. You could give it to the awarding bodies and let them decide how it should be spent because they are the go between with whatever you are learning and the employer.”

For the full show, listen below.