Number of Modern Apprenticeships increases in Falkirk

Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson has hailed the growing success of apprenticeships in Scotland.

By The Newsroom

Published 10th Jun 2017, 16:52 BST

Updated 10th Jun 2017, 16:58 BST

The number of those starting Modern Apprenticeship increased to a record 26,262 in 2016-17, exceeding the Scottish Government’s 26,000 target.

There were 873 new starts in the Falkirk Council area.

The figures, released by Skills Development Scotland, show 76 per cent of new starts were aged between 16 and 24.

In Falkirk, the total number of 16 to 24-year-olds who were in Modern Apprenticeship training at the end of March was 1210 - accounting for 12.1 per cent of the workforce in that age group.

Mr Matheson said: “It’s encouraging so many young people in Falkirk district are making the most of the opportunity to earn while they learn.

“It’s also great to see people with a disability made up nine per cent of local new starts, which underlines the commitment to equality of opportunity within Modern Apprenticeships.”