March 30th, 2009

I know the life of an apprentice can be a tough one at times.

It isn’t much fun having to work for four years on a reduced wage and being landed with the jobs the more experience workers don’t fancy.

But it is also the gateway to a trade, a good job and hopefully a better life.

That is why so much value is placed on securing an apprenticeship by young people leaving school in our area.

In these difficult times, the life of an apprentice has just got a whole lot tougher.

With fewer houses and schools being built, the construction industry has been hit hard.

I have been contacted by young people laid off just months short of getting their papers – potentially putting them back to square one.

Despite assurances from the Scottish Government that safeguards would be put in place to help these young workers through the economic downturn, already 800 apprentices have been made redundant across Scotland.

If we don’t take action to stop this decline, it won’t be just those apprentices who suffer.

When we come out of this recession, we are going to need skilled tradesman to work on large projects, like the Forth Road Bridge and the Southern General Hospital.

So we must act now to ensure we have the capacity to see these projects through.

That is why I am backing calls for a dedicated helpline for apprentices who find themselves out in the cold and need support to get back into work.

And I am supporting the idea of national database for apprentices to ensure we can track the progress of the tradesmen of tomorrow.

We should also be looking at subsidising employers to retain their own apprentices if they are able to take on fourth-year apprentices.

If these young people are willing to learn and willing to work, we should be taking action to ensure they are able to. That is in all of our interest.