Fair Deal for Apprentices   April 22, 2010

Springburn MSP, Paul Martin, is calling for a more help for Scottish apprentices, saying that every young person in Scotland with suitable qualifications has the right to an apprenticeship.
 
According to Skills Development Scotland, 855 apprentices were made redundant in the past year. 720 of these were in the construction industry, which has lost nearly £2 billion of investment because the Scottish Government have stopped investing in Scotland’s future.
 
The highest numbers were in Glasgow where 89 apprentices were made redundant.
 
Paul Martin said:
 
“This is an opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to speak up for the next generation. I believe that every young person should have the right to quality training, and an apprenticeship if they are suitably qualified.
 
“It is simply unacceptable that over 700 apprentices from the construction trades have lost their jobs in the past year. These young people are being deprived of the opportunity to train for the future in an industry that needs their skills.
 
“As the Scottish Chambers of Commerce point out, the Scottish Gorvernment bear a heavy responsibility for this because they have turned off the tap of public sector investment and made the recession worse than it would otherwise have been.
 
“Now is the time for us to start fighting back and get Scotland building again. I am calling on MSPs from all parties to make a clear statement that young people have the right to quality training.”

Here, Paul (far right) is pictured with Labour Leader Iain Gray (middle), Harry Frew (far left) from UCATT and two apprentices.