However, the scheme is limited to 4,000 places and, to qualify for the cash, the apprentice must be employed between 11 January and 26 March this year. If the take-up is not achieved in that small timeframe, surely the scheme can be extended.On Monday, my colleague Richard Baker and I visited Macphie of Glenbervie, an independent food ingredients manufacturer that employs 300 people over two sites—250 at its main plant near Stonehaven and another 50 at a plant in Uddingston that was recently taken over.