Meeting of the Parliament 13 May 2015
I will continue on the theme of common purpose and agreement. We, too welcome the debate, which takes place as we approach Scottish apprenticeship week and which gives us a chance to highlight the work that has been done, the opportunities that have been gained and the life chances that have been enhanced, and to look at how much more we can do. That includes ensuring that modern apprenticeships are open to all who can benefit from them. I, too, will be doing a visit next week. We support the Government motion and the Labour amendment, and I trust that our amendment will be taken positively and constructively, as it is written. The intention is to improve the accessibility of modern apprenticeships for all.
I will mention the number of male and female apprenticeships, and not just in relation to occupational segregation. At level 2, the numbers of male and female apprentices are almost equal; at level 3, there are about 50 per cent more males than females; at level 4, there are three times more males than females; and, at level 5, there are 10 times more males than females. That needs to be looked at. The issue is not just about culture or occupational segregation; it is about the level of achievement.
I heard what the cabinet secretary said about the disabled, and I welcome the £500,000 to address equality of opportunity. In England, almost 8 per cent of apprenticeships are undertaken by people with a declared disability, whereas the figure in Scotland is less than 1 per cent—in fact, it is 0.7 per cent. I welcome the fact that that issue will be looked at. I also welcome the commitment to consider what support can be given, where appropriate, to ensure that modern apprenticeships are open to disabled people.
There can be no doubt that the abolition of employers’ national insurance contributions for apprenticeships aged under 25 is a significant positive step towards incentivising employers to recruit more apprentices. I expect that members across the chamber will welcome that initiative.
At last week’s meeting of the cross-party group on colleges and universities, we heard of considerable good practice, including the articulation from apprentice training and higher national certificates to second-year university. That can be achieved by colleges and universities working more closely to ensure that second-year students who come from further education and apprenticeships are at the same starting point in terms of knowledge, experience and qualifications, and means that training does not always end with an apprenticeship and can continue.
Edinburgh College’s briefing paper highlights its aim to introduce apprenticeships in growing industries such as IT, energy, life sciences and finance, and in management. I welcome that, particularly given last year’s Audit Scotland report, which stated that there was very little correlation between modern apprenticeships and the growth industries in Scotland. I welcome that from Edinburgh College; I also think that SDS could do more.
In its briefing, Lockheed Martin stated that there is currently a shortage of young people entering the digital technology industry. That came with a warning that Scotland could lose out on huge economic benefits to our nation if it does not have a stream of well-qualified young people going into the industry. We have to listen to employers.
I have to say that I especially like Asda’s briefing, which stated that
“we hire for attitude and train for skill”.
We should do more to value apprenticeships and, indeed, jobs in the retail and hospitality sectors, given the huge numbers that those sectors employ. The fact that Asda’s chief executive, Andy Clarke, began his retail career aged 17 as a supermarket trolley attendant is proof that Asda does not just train for a few months but provides a proper career path.
Much good work is being done—on foundation apprenticeships, for example—but there are also concerns. One of my concerns is that, in Scotland, 93,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 are not in education, employment or training. We need to know what is being done to target that group, whose number increased by 3,000 in 2013.