SNP SAY YES TO 50,000 WORK PLACES FOR YOUNG SCOTS

For Immediate Release - Monday 14th February 2011



Attn: NEWSDESKS


POLITICAL / ECONOMY / EDUCATION CORRESPONDENTS

TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIPS TO FORM £40 MILLION PACKAGE


The SNP today made a pre-election pledge to expand on the steps for young people announced in last week’s budget with a guarantee of 25,000 apprenticeship places a year for the next four years and an expanded programme to help young people into work with 25,000 training places under the party’s £40 million Youth Employment Scotland (YES) proposals.


The £40 million Youth Employment Scotland package which will be introduced by a re-elected SNP Government was announced by Finance Secretary John Swinney and Skills Minister Angela Constance as they met apprentices with the Edinburgh Construction Group at their workshop in Leith.


Youth Employment Scotland includes


• 25,000 apprenticeship places a year – for the next FOUR years


• £20 million of extra investment in training for work places – ensuring 25,000 places for young people struggling to get into work


• Record support for bursaries by continuing the £10 million of additional funding this coming year to provide 50,000 bursaries a year for the next four years


SNP MSP and Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney said:


“Ensuring our young people have the jobs and opportunities they need to get started in life is essential.


“88,000 young people are struggling to find work as a result of the recession. The SNP in Government has taken action by increasing apprenticeships and expanding college places to help our young people. At the coming election we will do more.


“Youth Employment Scotland will see a re-elected SNP government extend our policy of 25,000 apprenticeships a year from next year to the next four years. We will also expand training places that get young people into work with a £20 million investment to provide 25,000 training for work places in each of the next four years. These places will give more young people the chance to learn a trade, to pick up skills and to prevent today’s young people another lost generation.


"As a Scottish Government working for Scotland getting Scotland's young people into work is a key priority for the SNP."

SNP MSP Angela Constance, Minister for Skills and Further Education who joined Mr Swinney to meet the young apprentices added:


“Today we are not only extending our support for apprenticeships to a full four years we are introducing new training places and I can confirm we will guarantee the additional funding for bursaries not just for next year but for the full four year parliament.”


“I want to see young people saying YES to job opportunities and employers finding a workforce they can say YES too.


“The SNP will deliver practical on the job training for our young people not empty promises.


"With a record 20,000 apprenticeship places last year in everything from construction to retail to life sciences and renewable energy, more support for college students than ever before and investment in training programmes that support young people into work the SNP is a government working for Scotland to get Scotland out to work."