Scottish youngsters engineer future

Record numbers of young Scots are engineering the future by becoming modern apprentices – new figures released by Semta reveal.

More than 1,000 school and college leavers, aged between 16 and 19, took positions to earn and learn and set out on a rewarding and engaging career path to help build a better more prosperous Scotland.

The number of engineering apprentices taken has risen by 28%. Engineering apprentice registrations rose from 1085 in 2011-12 to 1393 in the last 12 months – the second highest figure on record.

Sarah Sillars, OBE, CEO of Semta – a sector skills body overseeing science, engineering and manufacturing in Scotland and the rest of the UK – hailed the breakthrough as a meaningful moment on the country’s road to recovery.

“This is wonderful news!” said Sillars, “a real milestone on the road to recovery.

“The message is getting through that there are numerous opportunities in Scotland for capable candidates to embark on a really rewarding and stimulating journey to a world class qualification and top notch career.

“Many major companies, and those that supply them, are crying out for more young people to make the move and find out how to come on board.”
The announcement at Spirit AeroSystems Europe, Prestwick, marked a highlight of Scottish Apprenticeship Week.

A special breakfast briefing was attended by Paul McKelvie, OBE, (UKCES scotland commissioner and SDS board member) Gordon McGuiness, head of industries and enterprise skills development Scotland, Lynn Tomkins, UK operations director from Semta and apprentice Thomas Moffat.