That the Parliament recognises that future economic growth is reliant on providing the right opportunities to create good jobs that allow businesses to expand; notes with concern the findings of the recent Audit Scotland report, highlighting a 20% real-terms cut in funding to the college sector over the past five years, and believes that this has a negative impact on the economy and limits opportunities for young people to get ahead; acknowledges the concern from business representative groups about the future of apprenticeships, and the harm that a restriction in apprenticeship numbers causes to job creation in Scotland, and calls on the Scottish Government to restore funding to Scotland’s colleges and raise the number of modern apprenticeship places from 25,507 in 2024-25 to at least the 34,000 identified by Skills Development Scotland as necessary to meet Scottish economic growth ambitions.
Submitted by: John Mason, Glasgow Shettleston, Independent, Date lodged: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Submitted by: Lorna Slater, Lothian, Scottish Green Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Submitted by: Richard Lochhead, Moray, Scottish National Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Supported by: Natalie Don-Innes, Kate Forbes, Jenny Gilruth, Ben Macpherson
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, October 8, 2025