Arnold Clark fails to appear at Scottish Parliament committee

Car firm Arnold Clark, which sparked controversy by suggesting many young people are unemployable, has been criticised for not turning up to a scheduled Scottish Parliament committee session.

David Scott, chief executive of GTG Training which is owned by car dealer Arnold Clark, was expected to expand on claims made to MSPs that more than four-fifths of school leavers seeking an apprenticeship were unsuitable.

Some young people have a poor attitude, wholly unrealistic expectations and are unprepared for long working hours, the firm said in a report to the Finance Committee.

MSPs said they were disappointed that Mr Scott sent his apologies, citing an unforeseen business requirement.

Michael McMahon, a Labour MSP on the committee, alluded to the criticisms of young people by GTG Training when he said: “I hope he will have a good reason and it’s not down to his poor attitude, that he’s got no concept of citizenship, poor communications skills or a poor understanding of the standards that are expected. I’m sure there is a good reason why he’s not here.”

There were 3,810 inquiries for the Arnold Clark apprentice scheme last year, leading to 2,280 formal applications, according to the GTG Training report, lodged with the committee in advance.

Of those, 430 were deemed employable and 121 were given a job.

A total of 1,850 were considered “not employable at all”.

The report stated: “We acknowledge that we may well be recruiting at the lower end of the achievement spectrum and so it might be better to view us as a highly effective safety net, saving almost 20% from lifetime unemployment.

“But we really do believe that more can be achieved for the unsaved majority with intelligent and innovative interventions, provided there is the political will to effect change.”

Mr McMahon asked if businesses rather than school leavers have a “wholly unrealistic expectation”.

He said: “I left school at 15 and had an apprenticeship. I’m not sure I was entirely ready for what I encountered. It took me a long time to get into my stride.”

SNP committee member Mark McDonald said: “I’m disappointed that the representative from GTG, Arnold Clark, isn’t here. I think it was a fairly provocative submission, certainly the language that was used within it, and I think it would have merited some probing and some challenge.

“Describing people as not employable at all is a bit generalistic.”

Conservative committee member Gavin Brown called for clarification of GTG’s figures.

He said: “How did they reach the conclusion that 1,850 people were not employable at all? I think that’s an important question to ask.

“I would be interested to know out of that 1,850, how many did they actually meet or interview, as opposed to it being a paper-based exercise?”

In a statement, Arnold Clark Automobiles said: “Due to an unforeseen business requirement, David Scott advised the committee that he was unable to attend.”

Mr Scott will be invited to attend another committee hearing, convener Kenneth Gibson said.