Apprenticeships Minister Anne Milton MP visit software company @Invotra in Woking

The Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills, the Rt Hon Anne Milton MP, visited enterprise software company Invotra in Woking, Surrey today.

• She took part in checking software for digital accessibility, to support those with visual impairments, led by former apprentice Andrew Doyle
• She also met ‘women in tech’ apprentices who demonstrated a cross site cyber security attack
• The visit marks the end of National Apprentice Week #NAW2019 and International Women’s Day #IWD19

The Minister visited the company’s new digital accessibility testing lab and experienced intranet, website and portal screen images through restricted site glasses and using a screen reader. The session was led by lab manager Andrew Doyle, age 21, who was SME apprentice of the Year in 2016.

In a second session, Minister Milton was shown a cross-site scripting attack by Chelsea Cadd, one of the few female apprentices studying towards a cyber security qualification in the UK. There was a live link with Invotra’s Newcastle office and Chelsea showed Minister Milton how she deals with online security threats as part of her day job. Chelsea, age 24,  was awarded Newcomer of the Year at the Cyber Security Awards in 2018.

Alison Galvin, HR Director, Invotra said, “Our apprentices are delighted Minister Milton is visiting our offices and seeing their work first hand.  For a high tech company like Invotra there’s no doubt that apprenticeships work brilliantly, providing time to study while gaining invaluable experience of working in a fast-moving business.”

Anne Milton is Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills. She was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Education on 12 June 2017. She was elected as MP for Guildford in 2010.

Invotra is an enterprise software company with headquarters in Woking, Surrey.  The company provides intranet and portal services to over 45% of central government departments as well as local authorities. People are at the heart of the company and it is proud to be a UK ‘Top 100 Apprentice Employer’ for the past two years. Over one third of its workforce are former or present apprentices and 40% of its board are women.

Jonathan Lord MP for Woking added, “I am delighted to join the Minister, Anne Milton, in my constituency to celebrate the work of Invotra and its award-winning apprenticeships programme. It was great to meet with many apprentices today at the end of National Apprenticeships Week and in particular to see ‘women in tech’ apprentices thriving in a supportive environment. Woking is really on the news map at the moment!”