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Laventille East/Morvant MP Christian Birchwood says the 2026 national budget is devoid of apprenticeship initiatives linking youths in at-risk communities to state-funded projects.

In his contribution to the budget debate in the House of Representatives on October 17, Birchwood alluded to Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo’s statement, in the $59.2 billion fiscal package, about contractions in the labour market.

“The Minister of Finance stated that estimates over the past decade show a contraction of nearly 70,000 jobs and labour force participation has fallen from roughly 62 per cent to below 55 per cent.