Minister visits college campus
MSP meets Lanarkshire apprentices
Scotland’s Minister for Employability and Training, Jamie Hepburn, met Modern Apprentices at the Motherwell campus of New College Lanarkshire.
He chatted with engineering apprentices and their lecturers during a visit to coincide with the Scottish Government’s response to the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy.
New College Lanarkshire currently train more than 700 Modern Apprentices in partnership with Skills Development Scotland and through a range of commercial contracts.
During his visit, the Minister also made an announcement on the Scottish Government’s new £10million Workforce Development Fund.
Mr Hepburn said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be here at this fantastic, impressive building in the Motherwell campus of New College Lanarkshire. I want to say a massive, hearty well done on being named ‘Best in the UK’ for the third time in four years at the Worldskills UK trade skills competition.
“Those of us who know this college well will be unsurprised by such recognition and you can be justifiably proud of this accolade.
“You offer an impressive range of learning and training opportunities and apprenticeships, and this is why I wanted to come here, to New College Lanarkshire, to formally issue the report that sets out the Scottish Government’s response to the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy.”
Afterwards, the Minister was taken on a tour of the College’s Engineering workshops by Martin Mcguire, principal and chief executive of New College Lanarkshire.
Mr Mcguire said: “I am pleased that the Minister has acknowledged that we have won ‘Best in the UK’ for a third time in the last four years, which means that our commitment to skills and skills development is being recognised on a national level.
“I’m also pleased that our commitment to apprentices is being recognised, as we have more than 700 Modern Apprentices here at New College Lanarkshire.
“I think it’s fair to say that we are committed to skills, we are committed to developing young people, and our track record shows that we make an enormous contribution, not only to Lanarkshire, but also to the wider economy.”