Question reference: S6W-13733
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 10 January 2023
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Current status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 24 January 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the number of apprenticeships it has funded via Skills Development Scotland in the current academic year meets the level of demand, and, if that is not the case, how it plans to resource any shortfalls.
Answer
Skills Development Scotland (SDS) allocate Modern Apprenticeship (MA) starts every financial year in line with Ministerial priorities and industry demand. SDS were asked in their Letter of Guidance to deliver at least 25,000 new apprenticeship starts this financial year as part of our commitment to build back up to 30,000 starts.
SDS made an initial allocation to providers prior to the start of the year. They have kept employer demand under review during the year and in December allocated several hundred additional MA starts to providers who requested them and met eligibility criteria.
It is standard practice for SDS to review changing demand for apprenticeship starts in-year, and adjust the number of starts allocated to respond to demand as appropriate within their budget. SDS will continue to follow this process and keep under review whether any additional starts can be allocated to providers within this financial year.