Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 14 June 2012
14 Jun 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Youth Employment
In fact, we are doing three things differently. We are doing it bigger, we are doing it better, and we are increasing the priority given to 16 to 24-year-olds.
The completion rate, which indicates the proportion of young people who complete their modern apprenticeship, is at a record high of 75 per cent. Is that not money well spent? Surely Mr Findlay is not suggesting that we should spend less money on modern apprenticeships when 94,000 young people are seeking work.
I want us to unite in the Parliament and to encourage more young people to take up their opportunity, whether it be a college place or a modern apprenticeship. For Mr Findlay’s information, Skills Development Scotland’s board is already doing work to find out the facts, as opposed to the scaremongering and anecdotal evidence that some employers in some sectors discard young people after their training. Most employers are trying to survive in a difficult economic climate and they know that they must get value for money from their investment. Given that it costs £9,000 to train an engineer, why would any self-respecting employer get rid of a young modern apprentice?
There is no doubt that our young people face difficult times. I do not believe that anyone in the chamber wants to see a generation of young people defeated by economic circumstances that were not of their making. I include members such as Neil Findlay in that, even if their words do not always replicate that view.
This is a matter on which we should unite as a Parliament, because this is not the Scottish National Party’s modern apprenticeship scheme; it is Scotland’s modern apprenticeship scheme. At the Glasgow action forum this week, someone suggested that we should think of Scotland as a family firm, where we all take responsibility for developing young people in our employ. I think that that fits well with our strong tradition of community, and I urge members to join my campaign to persuade employers to support young Scots into work.
I move,
That the Parliament believes that recruiting young people makes good business sense and is crucial to sustainable economic growth; notes that the employers’ survey carried out by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills showed that the majority of employers in Scotland that recruited a young person straight from school, college or university were satisfied with their skills; welcomes the £25 million of European Structural Funds announced on 9 May 2012 to support youth employment over the next two years, and agrees that this should be focused on supporting young people into work in small and medium-sized businesses.
15:25
The completion rate, which indicates the proportion of young people who complete their modern apprenticeship, is at a record high of 75 per cent. Is that not money well spent? Surely Mr Findlay is not suggesting that we should spend less money on modern apprenticeships when 94,000 young people are seeking work.
I want us to unite in the Parliament and to encourage more young people to take up their opportunity, whether it be a college place or a modern apprenticeship. For Mr Findlay’s information, Skills Development Scotland’s board is already doing work to find out the facts, as opposed to the scaremongering and anecdotal evidence that some employers in some sectors discard young people after their training. Most employers are trying to survive in a difficult economic climate and they know that they must get value for money from their investment. Given that it costs £9,000 to train an engineer, why would any self-respecting employer get rid of a young modern apprentice?
There is no doubt that our young people face difficult times. I do not believe that anyone in the chamber wants to see a generation of young people defeated by economic circumstances that were not of their making. I include members such as Neil Findlay in that, even if their words do not always replicate that view.
This is a matter on which we should unite as a Parliament, because this is not the Scottish National Party’s modern apprenticeship scheme; it is Scotland’s modern apprenticeship scheme. At the Glasgow action forum this week, someone suggested that we should think of Scotland as a family firm, where we all take responsibility for developing young people in our employ. I think that that fits well with our strong tradition of community, and I urge members to join my campaign to persuade employers to support young Scots into work.
I move,
That the Parliament believes that recruiting young people makes good business sense and is crucial to sustainable economic growth; notes that the employers’ survey carried out by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills showed that the majority of employers in Scotland that recruited a young person straight from school, college or university were satisfied with their skills; welcomes the £25 million of European Structural Funds announced on 9 May 2012 to support youth employment over the next two years, and agrees that this should be focused on supporting young people into work in small and medium-sized businesses.
15:25
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-03295, in the name of Angela Constance, on young people and economic growth. I advise members that the de...
The Minister for Youth Employment (Angela Constance)
SNP
Last December, President Barroso, in response to growing unemployment across Europe, urged all member states to develop youth job plans, increase apprentices...
Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab)
Lab
Will the jobs that the minister announced in the enterprise companies be new posts, or will the young people concerned replace older workers in those posts?
Angela Constance
SNP
As Kenneth Macintosh knows, many organisations across the public sector are living with the reality of shrinking workforces. We know, as he should know, that...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
The minister mentioned that she is spending £70 million on modern apprenticeships. The Parliament has to be accountable for that money. How many of the peopl...
Angela Constance
SNP
I know that Mr Findlay is a relatively new MSP but he, like everybody else in the chamber, should know that to be an apprentice in Scotland someone already h...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
Interventions from a sedentary position are not welcome.
Angela Constance
SNP
In fact, we are doing three things differently. We are doing it bigger, we are doing it better, and we are increasing the priority given to 16 to 24-year-old...
Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
It may surprise the minister that Labour has a real willingness to work with the SNP Government on young people and economic growth. That is why, as a party,...
Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee City West) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
I have spoken for literally 15 seconds. Mr FitzPatrick should give me a few more minutes to move on.We will support the minister’s motion today. Labour’s ame...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Michael Russell)
SNP
If I was furious in any way, it was the fury of disappointment that a member of the Labour Party who attended the youth summit and who I thought would work w...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
The reality is that the figures did not simply magic themselves into a Labour press release; they came from Skills Development Scotland, and they represent a...
Joe FitzPatrick
SNP
Which of those 10,000 people should not get the opportunity of a modern apprenticeship?
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
We would not take those opportunities away from young people. I will come back to Mr FitzPatrick’s point shortly with a suggestion about how the Government c...
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention on that point?
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
No. I am sorry, but there is a lot to get through. Mr Gibson will have the joy of listening to me close the debate as well, so if he speaks in the debate, I ...
Angela Constance
SNP
I take seriously any issue that any member of the Scottish Parliament has with an agency over which I have charge. I give the member that commitment.Will the...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
It is interesting that the minister says that this is the first year that SDS has collected figures in such detail. At First Minister’s question time, the Fi...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I welcome this debate on youth employment. I was a lecturer for 20 years before I became an MSP, so I am fully aware of the enormous benefit of training and ...
Michael Russell
SNP
I am glad to say that that work is well under way with the college reforms. In particular, I hope that the member will reflect on a core message from Tom Hun...
Mary Scanlon
Con
I am delighted about that. There was some criticism about how entrepreneurialism was encouraged in the past, and I am pleased to hear the education secretary...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
You must close now, please.
Mary Scanlon
Con
I close by saying that in its last four years, the previous Administration had 3,000 more apprentices per year than this Administration has had in its first ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
We are extremely tight for time, so speeches of six minutes or less, including interventions, will be welcome.15:40
Paul Wheelhouse (South Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I rise in support of the Scottish Government’s motion. As the minister set out, the SNP in Government has done everything in its power to tackle youth unempl...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
Will the member give way?
Paul Wheelhouse
SNP
I will when I finish the quote. It continues:“This meets business requirements, gives more people the opportunity to train to industry standards and reduces ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
Forgive me, but the member is in his last minute.
Paul Wheelhouse
SNP
I apologise to Kezia Dugdale—I had not noticed the time going by.I commend the Government for continuing the adopt-an-apprentice scheme. The Finance Committe...