Games boost for apprenticeships

All school leavers in Glasgow are to be offered an apprenticeship by the city council next year.

It is hoped that about 2,500 youngsters will take up the opportunity of training in trades like plumbing and joinery.

Financial assistance will be given to businesses to take on trainees.

The move is being made possible by the construction boom from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which are to be held in the city.

The council hopes the move, the first of its kind in Scotland, will help to address the country’s skills shortage.

"Boosting the number of construction trade apprenticeships in the city will be a massive legacy for the city’s economy", Steven Purcell,
Glasgow City Council leader.

Council leader Steven Purcell said more pupils could benefit from similar schemes in future years. The £30m cost will be met by the council’s budget for next year.

Mr Purcell told BBC Scotland’s Politics Show: "This is specifically related to the Commonwealth Games but there will be other opportunities such as the M74 extension and the continued school building programme in Glasgow.

"So it is the first of what I hope will be many positive announcements in the runup to the Commonwealth Games.

"The Commonwealth Games will come and they will go, but it will mean nothing to the people of Glasgow if there is not a genuine legacy.

"Boosting the number of construction trade apprenticeships in the city will be a massive legacy for the city’s economy."

’Radical scheme’

Pupils will need to pass a basic practical assessment before they will be able to begin an apprenticeship.

Those who do not meet the required standard will be given extra tuition on literacy and numeric skills to help them meet the entry requirement.

Willie Docherty, managing director of construction firm City Building, said: "There’s tremendous skill shortages, not just in construction but in the utility and infrastructure industries.

"I believe this is the most radical scheme ever in terms of training, in terms of jobs, that I have heard of anywhere.

"This is going to, if you like, blow people’s minds. It is going to say to every single pupil ’you have got a future in Glasgow’ and I don’t think any other authority can say that."