Young apprentices set off on right career path
MORE than 26,000 people have entered the world of work thanks to the Scottish Government’s Modern Apprenticeship Programme.
MSP Jamie Hepburn, the minister of employability and training, visited the Busby Hotel in Clarkston following figures showing the Modern Apprenticeship Programme has taken on 26,262 people - 262 more than its target for 2016/17.
Receiving some training from two of the hotel’s apprentices, Mr Hepburn toasted the good news and also said the programme is on track to reach its target of 30,000 by 2020.
Mr Hepburn said: “I welcome these statistics which show we are exceeding our Modern Apprenticeship targets with employers clearly recognising the value of the opportunities they bring to increase skills in our workforce and encourage new talent.
“As we work towards our 2020 target of expanding the number of Modern Apprenticeship starts to 30,000 each year, we are growing, widening and enhancing the apprenticeship programme to respond to employers’ needs. This work is paying off as we are among the countries with the lowest youth unemployment rates in the EU.”
Loren MacGregor, 23, a bar tender and social media supervi- sor, who recently completed her hospitality and catering apprenticeship, said: “I feel as if I have progressed both as an individual and also in my career.
“I feel I have gained more confidence by being part of the modern apprenticeship programme.”
Andrew Galston, 19, who is now a bar supervisor at the Busby Hotel, said: “It’s great to receive recognition and to see that there is a path to career development. It’s great to receive the opportunity and I’m looking forward to the future and I have got ambitions to be a duty manager one day.”
The Busby Hotel, owned by Glasgow-based Manorview Hotels and Leisure Group, has 55 members of staff undertaking the modern apprenticeship programme.
A total of 19,847 new starts are between 16 and 24-years-old with the majority going in to the construction industry.