Colin Dalrymple visits Apprenticeships in Scotland

The Apprenticeships in Scotland team welcomed Colin Dalrymple, Chief Executive of Scottish Training Federation to their office this week, where we spoke about youth unemployment and ways of developing Scotland’s young workforce, which is a key topic of the STF conference in September. Colin also met new members of the AiS team who are helping lead our in-house and client web and digital media services where we discussed some of the exciting new things that we have been working on, including our new soon to be launched website. Colin talked about partnerships that he has been developing and the conference that's happening this September which the AiS team will be attending.

Developing Scotland's Young Workforce is the theme for the 2013 STF conference, which was a huge success last year. Angela Constance, Youth Employment Minister for Scotland will be speaking at the event this year, along with John McLelland, current Chair of Skills Development Scotland.  The Apprenticeships in Scotland team are really looking forward to this conference, as it is a key event for networking with STF members.  We hope that by having all of these influential figures in one place and by strengthening relationships we can all help come up with the solution to youth unemployment.

If you haven’t already, click here to book a place at this year’s conference at Crieff Hydro in September 

STF Apprentice of the Year Awards

Apprenticeships in Scotland’s Shannen, Mary and Rebekah attended the Scottish Training Federation’s Apprentice of the Year Awards at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 22^nd May.

There were several very insightful speeches by Margaret McCulloch MSP, Stuart Leitch Chair STF, John McClelland Chair SDS, Angela Constance MSP Minister for Youth Employment and Colin Dalrymple Chief Executive STF. The speakers were discussing Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland and how they have successfully contributed to tackling youth unemployment. The government’s target of getting 25,000 young people into apprenticeships per year is no longer being seen as an ambitious target but a figure that is being met easily and needs to be increased, enthusiasm was evident throughout the room.

The team would like to congratulate the finalists for the award and not forgetting the overall winner of the Modern Apprentice of the year. It is fantastic that young people are going the extra mile within their apprenticeship and making a valuable contribution to the organisations growth.

If you are interested in attending the Annual STF Conference there is an “Early Bird” Discount on the STF website. Click here for more information.

Should you want more information on how to take on an apprentice and make young people your business, please do not hesitate to contact the Apprenticeships in Scotland team. Click here for more information.

Skills Development Scotland Launch 2013 Modern Apprenticeship Scheme

The SDS Launch of the 2013 Modern Apprenticeship Scheme took place at the Tennent’s Training Academy.

The lives of 25,000 young people in Scotland have been transformed in 2012/13 by taking up a Modern Apprenticeship (MA) opportunity.

The Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland have confirmed that the target to enhance the job prospects of 25,000 young people through training in a key sector has been met for a second year.

Minister for Youth Employment Angela Constance marked the occasion by meeting a number of MAs working at the Tennent’s Training Academy in Glasgow.

She said: “The Scottish Government recognises the value of the Modern Apprenticeship programme in developing and improving the skills of our young people. An MA gives them a job and a qualification, as well as a real entry point to the working world. This is precisely why we set ourselves the challenging target to offer 25,000 MA opportunities for each year of the current Parliament and I am delighted that the target has again been reached. READMORE

Developing our expertise

As part of our on-going mission to develop our expertise in youth employment 'Apprenticeships in Scotland' apprentices, Shannen Scott, Rebekah Beaton and Mary Thomson, attended the "Apprenticeships and Training Conference 2013". The conference consisted of key speakers Angela Constance MSP, Minister for youth Employment, The Scottish Government and Paul McKelvie OBE, Scotland Commissioner, UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

The conference proved very useful for the Apprenticeships in Scotland team as they managed to get a great insight into what was happening within their sector and what the future plans were. They came away from the conference satisfied and more eager to help young Scots into employment!

For more information on other Holyrood events, click here

Firms in apprenticeships talks

Major businesses are to gather to discuss the employability of young people.

Firms including BP and Microsoft will meet Youth Employment Minister Angela Constance as the latest labour market statistics are published.

Other businesses taking part are drinks firm Diageo and car dealership Arnold Clark.

Ms Constance said: "Recent job figures have shown a movement in the right direction as we support more young people into employment, but there is no room for complacency.

"Opportunities for All, our unique offer of a guarantee of a place in training or education or training for all 16 to 19-year-olds is live and we are committed to 25,000 modern apprenticeship opportunities every year.

"It is vitally important that we remain engaged with Scotland's largest employers as we continue to help young people into jobs, and today's meeting will be an important opportunity to share information and discuss what's working well...READ MORE

13,600 apprenticeships pledged

More than 13,600 training places have been pledged by firms across the country to mark National Apprenticeship Week.

The number of apprenticeships have ranged to just one in smaller companies, to hundreds in larger organisations including British Airways and the Co-operative Group.

As preparations were made for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Ladbrokes announced that it will recruit at least 200 apprentices in South Yorkshire, London and Scotland...READ MORE

Make Young People Your Business’

New initiative calls on Scottish employers to employ young people and introduce youth policies in 2013

With only 25% of businesses in Scotland recruiting straight from school, college or university, youth employment remains one of the key challenges facing our modern society. Yet the many employers who do take on young people find that they bring enormous benefits to their business, even in today's tough economic times.

'Make Young People your Business' was recently launched by the Scottish Government at Diageo in…READ MORE