Scottish Apprenticeship week to boost take up

Firms North of the border will be urged next week to up their commitment to training as Scottish Apprenticeship Week (21-25 May) gets underway.

ConstructionSkills will host and support a series of events throughout Scotland  to reinforce the message from the Sector Skills Council that apprenticeships are vital to the future of the Scottish construction industry and offer huge benefits to employers who support them. One in 7 apprentices training in Scotland are in the construction industry with 5,418 construction apprentices in training, the highest cohort of apprentices.

Planned activities will include traditional skills demonstrations and employer events at Edinburgh Castle, schools visits at the Commonwealth Games Village, the National Construction College and events at colleges in Perth, Inverness, Shetland and Stornoway. The week will also see the launch of the ‘The Craft Apprentice of the Year Award’ which aims to find the top construction apprentice in the country.

Construction employers in Scotland are also being invited to take part in the week by attending update seminars where they can find out more about how to hire apprentices and learn about the support available including funding and grants, insurance and legal advice.

Graeme Ogilvy, Director at ConstructionSkills in Scotland said: “There are currently over 5,000 construction apprentices in Scotland and they are the lifeblood of our industry. The skills and enthusiasm they bring into the sector are vital for our future success.

Though traditionally Scottish firms have been proportionally taken on more apprentices than firms in the South East, is understood that the number of apprentices being taken on has fallen recent years. But forecasts suggests that growth will return to the industry in 2013 and employment in Scotland is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 1.1%, almost twice the rate of the UK as a whole.

The calls comes as a government survey of 5,000 apprentices found construction, planning and the built environment had the highest satisfaction level amongst all sectors, with 95 per cent of apprentices saying they are satisfied or very satisfied with their Apprenticeships. 91 per cent from engineering and manufacturing technologies said the same. Other sector specific findings included 94 per cent of apprentices in construction, planning and built environment saying their Apprenticeship had improved their career prospects, alongside 85 per cent in engineering and manufacturing technology. This compares with an average of 81 per cent across all sectors.

The same two sectors also topped the charts in terms of pay rises on completion of Apprenticeships, with 77 per cent of apprentices in construction, planning and built environment seeing their wages increase and 71 per cent in engineering and manufacturing technologies.

For more on Scottish Apprenticeship week: http://www.bconstructive.co.uk/en/apprenticeships/scottish-apprenticeship-week.aspx