Apprentice scheme is branded a ‘blatant con’ by Labour

More than 10,000 publicly funded apprenticeships, designed to help unemployed people, have been given to people already in work, according to figures released by the Scottish Labour Party.

The figures were obtained from Skills Development Scotland by Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale.

Four out of ten apprenticeships in Scotland went to people who had been in their job for more than six months.

Among the 26,000 Modern Apprenticeships started last year, 61 per cent had been in their post for up to six months, with the rest – 39 per cent – in work for longer than six months.

Among 16- to 19-year-olds, the figure for those in work for less than six months was 81 per cent – with 19 per cent having been in their job for longer than that.

Ms Dugdale, the Labour party’s spokeswoman on youth employment, said: “One of the Scottish Government’s flagship policies has been exposed as a blatant con.

“They said they had created 25,000 apprenticeships.

“What they actually did was take at least 10,000 people who were already in jobs and re-badge their employment as apprenticeships.

“There is a huge gap between the rhetoric from Alex Salmond and the reality for young Scots facing a future on the dole.

“There are over a hundred thousand unemployed young people in Scotland and they deserve real and credible help to get into work.

“Instead, the Scottish Government offers a piecemeal approach, which is having limited impact on a lost generation.”

The Scottish Parliament is due to debate youth employment later this week.

Yesterday, Scottish education secretary Mike Russell dismissed the criticism.

“Every single publicly funded apprenticeship is helping young people in their careers,” he said.

“We should not be criticising getting young people jobs.

“What they had was a learning opportunity, they then went on to a better learning opportunity.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government is committed to maximising the employability and enhancing the life chances of our young people.

“Last year, after investing £72 million into the programme, we delivered in excess of 25,000 modern apprenticeships (MAs), a record for any administration in Scotland.

“Many of those apprentices classed as having been with their existing employer for up to six months will in fact have started there as an MA.

“But there will be cases where they do not start their training straightaway, such as college term times or the employer wishing to assess the suitability of the individual to undertake a qualification under their watch.

“Since 2009, we have helped more than 35,000 16- to 19-year-olds into the labour market and have reaffirmed our commitment to that most vulnerable of ages groups through Opportunities for All, a unique offer of a place in education or training.

“We expect MAs to remain a vital part of helping such young people into employment.”

In its election manifesto, the SNP pledged to help young Scots struggling to find work, promising 25,000 apprenticeship places a year.