SNP in £40m youth jobs plan but Labour dubs it too timid

THE SNP has promised to provide employment and training opportunities for 200,000 young people if the party is re-elected this May.

Finance Secretary John Swinney pledged 40 million that includes funding for 25,000 apprenticeships a year until 2015. The party also promised 25,000 work placements annually over the next four years for young people struggling to find jobs.

However, the election pledge was criticised as being "too timid" by Labour, which said all young people with appropriate qualifications should be guaranteed an apprenticeship.

The criticism came after Mr Swinney announced 25,000 apprenticeships in his 2011-12 budget, which Labour refused to back because of the lack of an offer of places to all young people.

Mr Swinney announced the 40 million Youth Employment Scotland package during an SNP campaign event at the Edinburgh Construction Group's apprentice workshop in Leith yesterday.

The plans include 10m for the apprenticeship places, 20m for the work placements, and 10m of additional funding for bursaries to be continued to provide 50,000 bursary places annually until 2015.

Mr Swinney said: "The SNP in government has taken action by increasing apprenticeships and expanding college places to help our young people. At the coming election we will do more."

But Labour, which outlined plans to create 10,000 jobs by partnering Scottish businesses in a Scottish Futures Jobs Fund, said that the SNP plans would not do enough to tackle youth unemployment.

Labour's finance spokesman Andy Kerr said: "I am pleased that the Scottish Government is expanding the number of apprenticeships, but this is yet another example of the SNP following Labour's agenda and being too timid.

"We have argued that every young person with appropriate qualifications should be guaranteed an apprenticeship."

Mr Kerr said that any small business that is prepared to create a new job for a young person unemployed for over six months will be eligible to take part in the scheme.

He promised that the first vacancies would be advertised within 100 days if Labour win power at May's election.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat finance spokesman Jeremy Purvis said that he would announce a "jobs action plan" at the party's spring conference in Perth next month.