The current freeze on Apprenticeship places and funding in Scotland is expected to disrupt the training and certification of some young people currently undertaking an Apprenticeship.
And some of the training providers who deliver Apprenticeships are expected to make significant redundancies in the next 2-3 months without support from Scottish Government.
Two training providers are currently operating with no funding support and are likely to close their business early in 2023.
These are some of the findings from a member survey undertaken by the Scottish Training Federation (STF) recently.
The survey also highlighted the high demand for Apprenticeships from employers – a demand that it not being met due to the current freeze.
The freeze on Apprenticeships – which STF estimates is affecting around 20% of Apprenticeship training providers in Scotland – is due to last until April 2023.
In the current circumstances, some young people will be denied the opportunity to access an apprenticeship. And for those already in training, there is a risk of disruption and delay with training and certification where businesses close.
STF is calling on Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and the Scottish Government to ensure – as a matter of urgency – that the freeze on Apprenticeship places and funding for affected training providers is removed – and a further 2,000 Apprenticeships are funded in the next six months to meet significant employer demand.
STF Chief Executive, Stuart McKenna, said: ‘I’m worried that some young people will be negatively affected by this freeze. Without help, some training providers are going to close down – so it’s inevitable that some apprentices will experience disruption and delay.’
‘Two of our members are already operating without any funding. Another 13 expect to run out of funding in the next 2-3 months. Six have said they expect to close their business before next April if no help is forthcoming.’
‘We urgently need SDS and the Scottish Government to commit to lift the freeze on Apprenticeship places and budgets for those training providers affected and to provide 2,000 more Apprenticeship places to meet employer demand. Without this, some businesses will be forced to close, Apprenticeship training will be disrupted and employer demand for Apprenticeships to recruit, train and retain staff will not be met.’
‘SDS has contracted for 25,000 Apprenticeship places this year – but this is simply not enough. There is clear demand from employers for at least 27,000 places and we urge Scottish Government to put resources in place to meet this demand and move towards its own target of 30,000 places.’
