SNP pledges 'seismic expansion' in apprenticeships over next parliament
The party’s manifesto will commit to expanding the number of graduate apprenticeships to more than 8,000 over the next Holyrood term
The SNP’s manifesto will promise to increase the number of apprenticeships to 150,000 over the course of the next Scottish Parliament.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the “seismic expansion” would be an investment in Scotland’s economic future.
The party will unveil its full list of pledges next week ahead of the Holyrood election on May 7. Labour, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats are also expected to publish their manifestos in the coming days as campaigning heats up.
The SNP said its promise would include expanding the number of graduate apprenticeships to more than 8,000 over the course of the parliamentary term, as well as introducing an “apprenticeship accelerator grant” for business, backed by the apprenticeship levy.
The latter is a 0.5 per cent tax on UK employers with annual pay bills over £3 million.
The SNP said it would also create a bespoke scheme with employers in the public sector to support more disabled young people to enter apprenticeships and employment.
Ms Gilruth, the SNP candidate for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, said: “By creating 150,000 apprenticeships over the course of the next Scottish Parliament, this SNP manifesto commitment will deliver a seismic expansion to apprenticeships and deliver a key boost to our skills economy.
“We know how valuable apprenticeships are to our young people and to Scottish businesses. This SNP manifesto commitment is a targeted intervention which will ensure that young people, who will make up our future workforce, have the opportunity through apprenticeships to build their confidence, gain industry insight and develop valuable skills that employers require.
“In government, the SNP has already delivered around 400,000 apprenticeship opportunities – this seismic expansion is a strategic investment in Scotland’s economic future.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar previously outlined plans for 9,000 apprenticeships in key Scottish industries, including an apprenticeship guarantee for growing sectors in need of skilled staff.
He accused the SNP of funding nearly 9,000 fewer apprenticeships than colleges and industry were asking for. Labour said that under its plans, any qualified apprenticeship candidate would be guaranteed a place in a sector where workers are needed.
The Scottish Conservative manifesto pledged to use apprenticeship levy cash to “set up a new, ring-fenced fund that would increase support for apprenticeships and be demand-led”.
The party also wants to allow “pupils who are disengaged from school” to go to college or start an apprenticeship aged 14 or 15, as well as paying colleges extra money for courses in areas with skill shortages in the economy, among other measures.
Reform’s manifesto also contained a number of pledges around apprenticeships, including rebooting the apprenticeship levy funding model in order to “guarantee every penny is invested into apprenticeships linked to colleges”.
Elsewhere, the party said it would establish a “first job passport to ensure every young person moves seamlessly from school into further education or apprenticeship or vocational training or employment”, as well as examining “a new pathway for S3/S4 students into alternative, technical education”.
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