Swinney vows to deliver 5,000 apprenticeships

Education Secretary John Swinney has pledged 5,000 apprentice places for Scottish schoolchildren by the end of 2019.

He hailed a “massive expansion” of the foundation apprenticeship programme, which sees teenagers get onthe-job training while still at school.

The work scheme, which is bolstered by classroom learning, sees those aged 15 taken under the wing of Scottish employers in industries such as engineering, software and finance.

Mr Swinney said that up to 5,000 young people will start a foundation apprenticeship by the end of 2019. In 2016-17, 351 children started the twoyear training.

The Deputy First Minister said: “As part of our work to deliver excellence for all, we are working to widen access to university.

“But not every young person can or should go on to university.

“That’s why we have been reforming vocational education and increasing the number of modern apprenticeships, hitting new records every year on the road to our target of 30,000 new starts by the end of this parliament.”

“We need the whole system to work together if we are going to make the scale of difference that is our ambition.

“And, we need to break down the barriers between the different parts of the system. That’s what our new Foundation Apprenticeships do.

“They are apprenticeships undertaken at school, with work-based learning, alongside academic exams.

“They are the chance to get a head start on a career by gaining industry-recognised qualifications, working on real projects and gaining the experience every employer looks for.”

The Scottish Conservatives have bemoaned the lack of apprenticeships in Scotland, saying in their 2016 manifesto that England has double the number north of the border.

The Tories say they want to see an extra 10,000 apprenticeship starts in Scotland per year until 2021.

In her speech to conference this afternoon, Nicola Sturgeon will announce a fund to increase the digital skills of Scots workers.

The £36 million pot, which runs for three years, will provide loans to companies for digital training for staff.

It is designed to boost productivity – the output of workers – which has been flagging across the UK.

The SNP leader is expected to say: “We need to change that. Scotland cannot afford to ignore this prize.”