As of this week, another 34 young people in North Ayrshire will benefit from the SNP Government’s Modern Apprenticeship Scheme, through placements with North Ayrshire Council.
Since coming to office in 2007, the SNP Government has supported 214,871 apprenticeships across Scotland, including 6,682 in North Ayrshire.
With 446 participants in 2007 and 844 last year, the number of apprenticeships in North Ayrshire has increased by 89.2%, compared to a 63.4% increase across Scotland.
Modern Apprenticeships provide individuals with the opportunity to secure industry-recognised qualifications at a range of Vocational Qualification (VQ) levels, while gaining vital work experience, whilst providing a way for businesses or public sector bodies to train employees to an industry-recognised standard. There are 80 different frameworks, which have been all developed by sector skills councils, in consultation with their industry.
According to Skills Development Scotland, 92% of apprentices are still in work six months after qualifying.
The new recruits arrive just weeks after statistics published by Skills Development Scotland for the fourth quarter of 2016/17 revealed that over the year, apprentice numbers reached record levels, exceeding the 2016/17 target of 26,000.
Kenneth Gibson MSP commented:
“Modern Apprenticeships have proven to be a highly effective way of training employees in a wide variety of industries to a standard that enables them to remain in employment, within North Ayrshire.
“The SNP has delivered on its Modern Apprenticeship targets year on year and these statistics demonstrate that we are well on our way to expanding the number of Modern Apprenticeship starts to 30,000 each year by 2020.
“It is important to recognise that Modern Apprenticeships offer a worthwhile alternative for young people who do not see higher education as part of their future career plans and who would rather gain valuable experience.
“I wish all starting apprentices a bright future and look forward to more stories about how they benefited from these key investments.”
To read more about the Scottish Government’s plans to develop our young workforce, click here.
ENDS
