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City Minister Andrea Leadsom today visited Bristol where she gave a keynote speech about the importance of the south-west鈥檚 financial services sector to the local economy. She also visited the Bristol Brunel Academy to see first-hand how one of Britain鈥檚 biggest banks is helping to equip local young people aged 11-19 with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce.

Leadsom gave the speech at a seminar organised by 皇冠体育appCityUK and hosted by KPMG, where she also met with senior industry representatives and hailed the area鈥檚 growing and dynamic financial services industry.

This is particularly true in Bristol, where the sector employs over 30,000 people, and a number of major financial companies, including Hargreaves Lansdown, have a significant presence.

Whilst at the Bristol Brunel Academy the City Minister met with representatives of Barclays to discuss their Life Skills programme, which is benefitting over a million young people. Leadsom then attended a session on 鈥榩eople skills鈥�, which is one of three areas the programme focuses on, and spent time interacting with students to gain a deeper understanding how the programme is helping them to succeed.

皇冠体育app Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrea Leadsom said:

A key part of our long term economic plan is to support a competitive financial services sector, not only in London, but also in the rest of the country where around two-thirds of people who work in the sector are employed, across a huge variety of roles.

That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 delighted to see the success of Bristol鈥檚 financial and professional services hub, which is boosting job creation and supporting the local economy.

I鈥檝e also had a chance today to visit the Bristol Brunel Academy and witness first-hand how Barclays and the Transformation Trust is helping to equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in the workplace through its Life Skills program.

Today鈥檚 tour continues a series of visits by the City Minister to witness firsthand how the financial services industry is thriving outside the square mile and contributing to the wider economy.

Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of 皇冠体育appCityUK, said:

皇冠体育app south-west is an important financial services cluster, with over 150,000 employed in the sector and Bristol at its heart. Bristol has a thriving financial and related professional services industry with 3,600 new jobs created over the past year. 皇冠体育app importance of the industry to the region is clear, with a contribution of over 拢12million in GVA (gross value added) in 2013.