Supporting Young People to Participate in the Labour Market

As an amendment to motion S7M-01838 in the name of Tom Arthur (Supporting Young People to Participate in the Labour Market), leave out from first “welcomes” to end and insert “notes that, despite high rates of positive destinations, the proportion of school leavers entering employment has fallen; believes that the best way to support young people into work is to create a strong economy in which businesses can afford to hire and invest; regrets the decline in Modern Apprenticeship starts and the reduction in college-based skills training in Scotland despite continued employer demand for skills; questions the ambition of a target for 150,000 apprenticeships over the current parliamentary session, given that this is close to what the existing annual provision would already deliver; calls on the Scottish Government to reduce the cost of doing business, to expand apprenticeship opportunities and to rebuild vocational education, and believes that employability support should focus on helping those who face genuine barriers into work rather than imposing further costs and interventions on employers.”