Training should not be relegated to periphery

Published on Tuesday 16 September 2008 21:08

THE Apprenticeship (Scotland) Bill aims to establish a right to an apprenticeship for suitably qualified young people aged between 16 and 18.

The consultation document, open for responses in the summer, outlined the possible ways this could be delivered.

To meet the new demand, the number of apprenticeship places will have to increase significantly, as will the promotion of apprenticeships in schools through advice to pupils.

Additional support is needed for employers to train apprentices and the public sector should increase its apprentice training places to match its employment of around a fifth of Scotland's workforce.

A range of organisations has responded, including trade unions, employers, training providers and local authorities. These responses are currently being analysed and will be published online as part of the next stages of the bill.

Skills are one of the key levers the Scottish Parliament has to develop the economy. The increasingly challenging economic situation highlights the importance of investing in the skills of Scotland's workforce. Unfortunately, it is all too common for training and development to be the first budget to be cut when belts need tightened.

Cuts in training is one of the areas I have focused on in my work, and I met with many training providers and businesses who are feeling the impact of cuts to adult apprenticeships.

Funding for these is being channelled solely into construction and engineering – great if it enables Scotland to meet the demands of major construction projects such as the Commonwealth Games or the replacement Forth Bridge – but all we are seeing is a few hundred extra places. Over 5,000 places have been cut in areas such as IT, care and business management.

Looking at cut management places for example, no-one would argue that a well-trained population of future leaders is vital to ensure we can compete, yet many businesses who may have saved a thousand pounds or so in a short-term benefit from business rate cuts, are losing of tens of thousands worth of funding for training.

The devastation caused by the loss of funding across sectors such as social care – integral to providing non-traditional modern apprenticeships – reinforces the evidence that has been given in responses to the proposals in the Apprenticeship Bill. These highlight the importance of providing small to medium-sized enterprises with assistance in taking on apprentices.

The member's bill process ensures that there must be a narrowness of focus that government bills are not constrained by. That said, those who have responded to the consultation have flagged up wider issues, such as access to training and employment for disabled people, that should be of pressing concern to those taking forward the skills agenda.

While I hope to address some of these challenges in my proposals, problems of ensuring equality of opportunity for all provide enough material for a number of member's bills.

At Westminster, colleagues are taking forward proposals to meet the skills challenge. Unfortunately, in Scotland, there is too narrow a focus on skills by the current Holyrood government. Training, skills and workforce development should be at the centre of political debate in the Scottish Parliament, not relegated to the periphery.

&#149 John Park is the Labour MSP for mid-Scotland and Fife