Question reference: S6W-23075
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 20 November 2023
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Current status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 December 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly refused proposals by (a) the Scottish Building Apprenticeship and Training Council, (b) the Scottish Painting and Decorating Apprenticeship Council and (c) Unite the Union to use Professional Development Awards to alleviate the backlog in construction apprentices who have completed most of their SVA units and portfolio work but remain uncertified.
Answer
The challenges experienced by construction apprentices completing their apprenticeships continue to be closely monitored. The backlog of those who started in 2017 and 2018 has largely been cleared due to considerable support from all stakeholders. Scottish Government continues to work with agencies and industry to improve the rate of completion for the 2019 cohort, while maintaining the quality and integrity of the apprenticeships.
As Minister for Higher and Further Education I have chaired multiple roundtables with key stakeholders and industry partners and have stressed the need for practical solutions to resolve this backlog as quickly as possible, while ensuring no detriment to the apprentices.
I welcome practical and feasible solutions to help address this situation but we have to ensure that those solutions do not have any unintended consequences for the learners.