Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley has today marked the beginning of Scottish Apprenticeship Week by welcoming new figures which show that the number of MA starts is almost at of 200,000.

The figures, obtained through the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre, show that across Scotland there have been 186,855 MA starts since 2007.

In 2014-15, South Lanarkshire also enjoyed 1,674 modern apprenticeship starts, compared with 1,255 starts in 2006-7. An increase of 33%.

Commenting, Angela Crawley said:

“I am delighted that as we celebrate this year’s Scottish Apprenticeship Week, latest statistics show that the number of apprentices is within touching distance of 200,000.

“In 2014-15 we delivered on our original manifesto target of reaching 25,000 Modern Apprenticeships each year.  We have now raised that target to 30,000 per year by 2021. We are already well on the way with 25,500 expected to have started in the year 2015-16.

“This has contributed to the percentage of school leavers in work, training or education reaching an all-time high and youth employment reaching its highest level for a decade.

“It’s also encouraging to see the figure in South Lanarkshire increase by one third.

“This represents 200,000 young people who are in work, learning new skills, gaining qualifications and earning money – this Modern Apprenticeship Week I would encourage all businesses to think about how their business could benefit from taking on an apprentice.