 The next item of business is members' business debate on motion 10268 in the name of Jamie Halcro Johnston on Scottish apprenticeship week 2018. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. May I ask those who wish to participate to press the request-to-speak button? I call Jamie Halcro Johnston to open the debate up to seven minutes, please. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. First, I would like to thank the businesses, employers and everyone else who contributed to this year's Scottish apprenticeship week. A special mention must go to Skills Development Scotland, who helped with much of the organisation of our visits that many of the members here today will have enjoyed. I am sure that we will hear more about those experiences later. I understand from SDS that 99 visits to businesses and training providers took place as a result of apprenticeship week, including 92 MSPs from across all parties in the chamber. Over 120 organised events took place, with a further range of employers, training providers and partner organisations taking the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of their apprentices. This year's theme, apprenticeships or the business, is designed to convey the value of apprentices to employers across the country. My own visit was to Leonardo Airborne and Space Systems here in Edinburgh, and I was heartened to see the businesses' commitment to investing in building skills and providing training. I would like to thank Alan Cahoon and his colleagues at Leonardo for what was a fascinating and encouraging visit. As well as the work that the apprentices were doing on cutting-edge technology as part of their normal role, it was great to also see some of the work that they are doing in their spare time to help adapt sensor technology to help students at the Royal Blind School. I commend them on that, and I wish them every success within the future. There has also been welcome political focus on apprenticeships and work-based learning in recent years. That stretches to a rare cross-party consensus that more and better apprenticeships offer a valuable way of providing skills and training. We now have a great deal of experience of modern apprenticeships with 26,262 starts in the last year. However, that is also a turning point for the new forms of apprenticeship that are coming out into the pipeline. In 2016, the first foundation apprentices made a start on their learning. There have now been 1,591 participants as the scheme has rolled out nationally. The number of frameworks has increased from 8 to 10. However, in many local authorities, there is still limited provision. In some parts of the country, as few as two frameworks are offered, and in areas such as the Highlands and Islands, there is little room for participants to travel. I am pleased by the reply that Jamie Hepburn provided to me on 27 September that the Scottish Government is committed to increasing the choice for young people in Scotland's remote and rural communities, and I will look forward to further news on future roll-out. During apprenticeship week, my colleague Ruth Davidson called for the expansion of foundation apprenticeships to every secondary school in Scotland. That is a solid ambition and one that begins to address the need to get Scotland's businesses better engaged with the education process and the skills pipeline that they are so reliant on at an earlier stage. However, we also know from SDS meeting minutes in December that their expectation was only 2,600 of the contracted number of 3,200 starts could be delivered in 2018-19 due to budget pressures. I caution the minister that the fledgling programme must be properly funded and that reducing growth in the next year will deny hundreds of pupils the opportunity of releasing or realising the benefits. I caution Mr Halcro Johnston to misunderstand what was reported in the press release to that matter. SDS and the Scottish Government have got me very clear that the target that was always for 2,600 foundation apprenticeship starts this year. Of course, they have to put out contracts for more than that so that they can hit the target. Jamie Halcro Johnston I thank the minister for the intervention and I am encouraged if he believes that they are meeting the targets on that. At the same time, we are also seeing the introduction of graduate apprenticeships. The University of the Highlands and Islands led the initial pilot in 2015. There are now 12 institutions delivering the range of frameworks, largely focused on STEM subjects, with a target of 4,000 starts by 2020. We can look forward to SDS's annual report next month and we will be better based to assess progress in this area. One important part of apprenticeship week is addressing the parity of esteem between work-based and academic learning. This is vital and must be accompanied by work across the departments of the Scottish Government to become a reality. Parity must be embedded in careers guidance across every school in Scotland. From an early age, young people must be aware of the opportunities that apprenticeships offer. There are certainly positives innovations such as my world of work website, but they must be publicised and embraced by the education sector to function efficiently. We recently debated the developing the young workforce strategy. While progress has been made since the wood report in 2014, we need to see real revolutionally change in how employees engage with education and skills sector if we are to address the needs of our rapidly changing labour market in the future. Apprenticeships, of course, stretch beyond the young workforce. 74 per cent of MA starts are under the age of 25, commonly entering the workforce for the first time. However, there are a range of people in other age brackets that would benefit from effective reskilling, and the apprenticeship programme is one way of supporting that. Apprenticeships must also be accessible. Some years ago, there were a number of disappointing figures in relation to women and people with disabilities entering apprenticeships. Those figures have improved, but there are still considerable gender distinctions in various apprenticeship frameworks. In my region, the Highlands and Islands, apprenticeships can be a key factor in creating a skills base that reflects local needs, as well as giving young people the opportunity to stay in those communities and learn after leaving school. Circumstances are very different in my region from the central belt. Typically, enterprises are smaller and more work needs to be done to get SMEs on board and engage with providing apprentices. I raised this issue with the First Minister earlier this month following a report by FSB Scotland, and the First Minister accepted that the smaller companies do face barriers and the need to increase the diversity of apprenticeship providers, so it would perhaps be useful if the minister could expand on the Scottish Government's plans in this area. The UK apprenticeship levy has also been a welcome move in ensuring that business contributes to the training and skills of their workforce. As we know, the Scottish Government has taken a different approach to the UK Government's plans for how the levy is spent in England. Again, we are at an early stage, but the experience of business in accessing funding and being able to use it usefully, particularly in relation to the flexible workforce development fund, will be absolutely key going forward. There remain questions over whether the fund should be broadened out to include providers other than colleges, as well as how, effectively, the college sector is building on these all-important employer links. Deputy Presiding Officer, this debate is an opportunity to highlight the important role of work-based learning and to celebrate the achievement of apprentices across Scotland. In addition to our visits, SDS is also calling on members to be an apprentice for a day, getting a taste of some of the hands-on work that they undertake. I would call on colleagues from across this chamber to sign up to this and help to emphasise the role of apprentices and apprenticeships in their own community wherever they are in Scotland. I look forward to hearing today's contributions and again offer my thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in making apprenticeships week such a success. I have a lot of members who wish to speak, so I really must ask everyone to adhere strictly to the four-minute time limit and it would be appreciated if folk could say all they had to say in fewer minutes. I call Ruth Maguire to be followed by Alexander Burnett. Presiding Officer, I thank Jamie Halcro Johnston for bringing this important topic to our chamber for debate. As part of Scottish apprenticeship week, the motion encouraged members to get involved by visiting an apprenticeship employer or training provider in their area. Like many colleagues, I am pleased to say that I took part in that week and visited the Irvine paper mill, where I met a very interesting and bright group of modern apprentices. They were all at different phases of their apprenticeship, but they had one thing in common—they had not been told about the possibility of apprenticeships in their school. That raised the question of whether apprenticeships are as widely promoted in schools as they should be and what more we can all do to ensure that our young people are aware of all paths available to them. The young folk that I met are all enjoying really high-quality learning and work experience in their engineering apprenticeships and will have a good job in our local community by following that path. One key element of raising the profile of this opportunity is that we really need to stress the parity of esteem between vocational or work-based learning and academic paths. An obvious way to do that is by making sure that information about apprenticeships is more widely and positively promoted in schools. I recently raised the issue at education committee with the Minister for Employability and Skills who acknowledged that though the situation is improving, it can still be a bit patchy. I understand that developing the young workforce is contributing to making sure that more young people are aware of apprenticeships as a post-school option, and I would be encouraged to see that further rolled out, as the minister suggested. I also agree with the minister that careers information and guidance offered by Skills Development Scotland could be broadened out and offered to young people earlier so that they are aware of apprenticeships from an early stage in their school life, whether that is foundation, modern or graduate apprenticeships. Chair of the National Parent Forum, Joanna Murphy, has pointed out that promoting apprenticeship in S5 and S6 is too late and that all options should instead be outlined to pupils in a broad sense in S2 so that they can make the right decisions for them at that point based on all the options available. She also stressed that, and I quote her now, parents certainly do not hear enough about the different options available to their children and are often hesitant to support unknown routes and can inadvertently negatively influence their children. I am glad that the minister is open to doing more to ensure earlier and more diverse careers information and guidance and look forward to monitoring progress on that as we work to raise young people's awareness of all the opportunities that are available to them, including quality apprenticeships. I am happy to say that I will be taking on the challenge and being an apprentice for the day. I am not sure where I will be going in my Cunningham South constituency, but I am hoping that it does not involve wearing a hair net or something unflattering, but we never know. I am sure that it will be great fun anyway. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I also note my congratulations to my colleague Jamie Halcro Johnston for achieving cross-party support and bringing Mr Bate to the chamber. Indeed, it is a topic that is close to my heart as I am an employer who is keen to see apprenticeship programmes flourish and nurture new talent. As such, I refer members to my register of interests, particularly to my businesses that I own, in which I currently employ six apprentices who benefit from CITB funding, and I aim to take on a further six later this year. Indeed, to date, we have taken on over 150 apprentices, and there is a reason that employers like myself are so keen on apprenticeship programmes. They are a productive and effective way for any business to grow their own talent, and they also allow businesses to nurture the motivated, skilled and qualified workforce that they require in their company. Productivity is a term that we often refer to in the chamber for our economy, but we also measure productivity at a micro-level within businesses. Apprenticeships help to boost their productivity as they reduce staff turnover and recruitment costs. As an added bonus, employers are feeling more valued, boosting staff morale, loyalty, commitment and retention. Those are positive attributes to the company, then lead to confidence from shareholders, potential employees and clients. With CITB Scotland finding that 80 per cent of employers found their workplace became more productive, apprentices are challenging the status quo of a business and encouraging innovative new ways of working. It can be noted that the number of apprentices receiving support from CITB Scotland is now up 36 per cent since 2011, and CITB is now the single largest training provider of modern apprenticeships across all frameworks in Scotland. Businesses are clearly catching on to those benefits. Many of us in the chamber will be keen to ensure that apprentices are not there just to benefit better businesses, however, and I am pleased that the format of apprenticeships is there to ensure that the largest benefactor are the individuals themselves. Generally, all apprentices are registered with one of the trade bodies, ensuring that they are employed and paid appropriately. In addition, they study at college and gain experience on site over a four-year period. There are slight variations in length, with some being two-year adult apprentices, but by and large, the college curriculum is mirrored across colleges in Scotland to ensure that all apprentices are getting the same off-site training. Construction is not just about bricklaying. There are a lot of advances in technology and a growing demand for technical roles within the industry. We need joiners, plasterers, managers, surveyors, civil engineers and more. We have more than half of those in the construction industry reaching retirement age. I would encourage those seeking jobs or thinking about potential careers at school to consider one in construction. There is a real opportunity here for the next generation to take advantage of an ever-growing industry. However, if one asks today, it is to tradesmen themselves to remember when they were starting their training and to encourage them to be keen to participate in taking on apprentices as someone once did for them. That would help to improve on-site training. If enough tradesmen take part, it even allows apprentices to rotate around mentors who will benefit from them. I am very proud to be an employer with apprentices and I will continue to champion the benefits that they can bring to businesses across Scotland. I would like to begin by thanking Jamie Halcro Johnston for securing this debate. I am delighted that we are having this opportunity to recognise modern apprenticeships. I am very proud that the Scottish Government has delivered over 200,000 modern apprenticeships since coming into power in 2007. I absolutely commend the commitment to raising that to 30,000 per annum by the end of this decade. I was one of the 99 MSPs who had a fantastic opportunity to go and visit apprentices in my constituency of Renfrewshire South. I went to the McGill's depot in Johnston. We also have a depot in Barthead as well. They have apprenticeships from right across my constituency and beyond. It is important to remember that we often have been debating busses in this Parliament for many reasons, but they are fantastic employers. McGill and I have been given brilliant opportunities to young people. I met a range of apprentices covering a range of trades, coach builders, mechanics and electricians. It is clear to me how much they valued the opportunity and how much pleasure they took from it, as well as the camaraderie and friendships. There were some points raised that echo some of the points that Ruth Maguire highlighted in her remarks, which relate to perhaps more work to be done on increasing awareness. I commend the development of Scotland and the work that we do to raise awareness, but I think that there is always more that we can do. As well, it is very important that parents know that, if there is lack of awareness and understanding of what modern apprenticeship entails, perhaps parents, as key influencers, might not have the confidence to give that backing and recommendation to a young person. A key issue that has been raised in this debate is parity of esteem. I absolutely agree that we have to have parity of esteem between vocational and academic learning. My father and two of his brothers were apprentices. This was a different era of apprentices when they could walk into a yard on a Friday and get a job on a Monday in the late 60s, but they were both born on a single-line and bore heed in the late 40s and early 50s, leaving school with no qualifications. My father, as an apprentice electrician, was unable to go on to work abroad, to work in the health service, to be city and guilds, to progress into becoming an electrical engineer, to become a manager and to develop continually in the tireters and states managing the health service. My uncle started off as a mechanic, worked and became a job scannier, worked as a trades partner, set up his own business and had a seven-figure turnover. What that speaks to me about is the nature of on-the-job learning and the capacity to adapt. One of the challenges that we are also going to face is the ever-increasing pace of change within the workplace environment. The jobs of 10 years may well be obsolescent in 20 years, so a capacity for continuously reinventing oneself, retraining, re-skilling and not by going into an ossified role is going to be absolutely vital. One of the points that Alexander Burnett put eloquently was to the benefit to employers in that regard, and particularly on the issue of productivity. It was a thought that struck me when Mr Burnett was making his remarks. We know that one of the challenges that we have in productivity is for many businesses. We are very good at innovating. There are challenges in businesses up taking those innovations. For people who are apprentices and have on-the-job learning hardwired into them, I think that they are going to be far more skilled at seeing opportunities to uptake those innovations and to apply them. Apprenticeships are great for apprentices themselves, but they are also fantastic for the employers and great for the Scottish economy overall. I call Ian Grayge, who is followed by Emma Harper. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I will add my thanks to Mr Halcro Johnston for bringing the debate on Scottish apprenticeship week to the chamber today. It is a week that I always try to mark in previous years that I have visited, for example, Tornish nuclear power station and met some of EDF's marvellous young apprentices there. For something different this year, I visited Yester Firm near Gifford, a family run dairy farm well known locally and increasingly nationally for their milk and cheese. I met Carol Wakefield, who has since successfully completed her modern apprenticeship in dairy skills. When I met Carol and the team, they were actually battling to cope with the disruption caused by snow and the red weather warning. Despite the severity, they managed to keep the local shops and, to be honest, my fridge too stopped with milk when the supermarkets shelves were empty. I wish Yester and Carol the very best for the future. We have heard from many speakers how modern apprenticeships open up fantastic opportunities for training and qualifications, and they are indeed a vital part of our education system and the developing the young workforce strategy. The current modern apprenticeship programme in many ways dates back to the budget dispute of 2009. At that time, modern apprenticeships were really in decline and had fallen from around 17,000 starts to about 10,500 over a short two-year period. As a result of the negotiations with the then Government in order to get their budget through at the second chance, the number of apprenticeship places were increased again and that trend downwards was reversed. Since then, we have made real progress on expanding modern apprenticeships, and that is very welcome. The Government is now making its progress towards the target of 30,000 MAs by 2021. However, we need to be careful to look at the detail of that, because the truth is that there was a significant increase in modern apprenticeships in 2009-10. Not as a result of more opportunities being made available, but as a result of the recategorisation, the transformation of level 2 training programmes into the modern apprenticeship level 2 frameworks. Just recently, the minister wrote to me to confirm that of apprenticeships starts in 2016-17, 17,263 of them were level 3, and the target for next year for level 3 is 20,000. However, the truth is that Audit Scotland's last report into the apprenticeship programme would show that well over 20,000 level 3 apprenticeships were being created every year between 2003 and 2006. Comparing like with like shows that the modern apprenticeship programme at level 3 and above is still below the peak that it was at 15 years ago. I understand the point that he is making, but he would still accept that, in many circumstances, a level 2 apprenticeship is appropriate and is still a valuable experience for a young person going through it? I absolutely do accept that, and indeed Caroll's apprenticeship, which I spoke about earlier, was a level 2 apprenticeship in dairy skills. My point is simply that we should not get too carried away with the progress that we have made in terms of numbers, and there are other problems, too, which we will have referred to around gender balance, for example. We all agree that expanding the modern apprenticeship programme is important. We need to consider not just numbers in the programme, but the quality and balance of the programme as well, because it is a critical element of building our economy and creating opportunity for the next generations of young people. I would like to add my congratulations to Jamie Halcro Johnston for securing this debate. I fully support the aim of highlighting the importance and value of apprenticeships to individuals, businesses and the economy. As the motion encourages, I mark Scottish apprenticeship week by visiting BSW Timber in Dalbyty. It is the UK's first fully integrated forestry company. The company was named youth employer of the month in February by Skills Development Scotland because of its commitment to growing talent. BSW employs 150 people across their site at Dalbyty and 30 apprentices, including Scotland's first female saw doctor, Katie, who I met on my visit there. BSW recently launched the UK's first saw doctor apprenticeship in partnership with Inverness College. It was really interesting to meet the apprentices and to see the highly technical work that they perform in the mill. While I was there, I also spoke with Tony Lockie. He is the group learning and development manager, and he is clearly passionate about helping his apprentices to get the most out of their time at BSW. BSW group offers good opportunities and good jobs in rural areas, which can be challenging to find. I was delighted to support the work that they are doing and recognise their good employment practices and the opportunities that they are offering young people locally in the South Scotland region. Scottish apprenticeship week truly gives us the opportunity to promote the value of our young people and examine how we can support young folk from all walks of life to fulfil their potential. We know that university is not the optimal place for everyone to develop their specific skillsets, and apprenticeships offer high-quality work-based learning that allows employees to learn on-the-job, reflect on their work and learn through experience. That approach not only helps young people to gain the qualifications and confidence that they need to succeed but allows businesses to develop the talent that they need to grow. Over 90 per cent of apprentices are still in employment in six months after completing their modern apprenticeship, and 96 per cent of employers say that former apprentices are better equipped to do their job. To build on that progress, foundation apprenticeships, which has already been mentioned, have been developed to provide a work-based learning opportunity for senior secondary school pupils. Last in two years, pupils begin their foundation apprenticeship in S5 and spend time out of school at college or with a local employer. I am delighted that this academic year, Dumfries and Galloway College secured the contract to deliver three foundation apprenticeships in engineering, business skills and social services, and children and young people. Over 10 years in government, the SNP has supported 7,000 modern apprenticeships in Dumfries and Galloway, an increase of almost 60 per cent since 2007. I am pleased that there will be provision of foundation apprenticeships in the region. I would like to close by acknowledging the progress that was set out in developing the Youth and Young Workforce annual report, 2016-17. The programme's headline target to reduce youth unemployment by 40 per cent by 2021 was met four years ahead of the target. Although there is more to do, particularly to tackle gender imbalances, which has already been mentioned, and to improve employment opportunities for those who are less abled, care experienced and from ethnic minority backgrounds, we are well on the way to improving the life chances of Scotland's young people. I am also very happy to be an apprentice for the day, and perhaps I would do that at BSW, but just as a quick Google search, there are 26 opportunities in the south-west that I would be happy to be employed in. Does that mean that you are going to do them all, Ms Harper? Liam McArthur, followed by Claire Hawthorne. I thank and congratulate Jamie Halcro Johnston on bringing this debate. I apologise for being briefly absent at the start of it. I also thank Skills Development Scotland on their work in relation to apprenticeship week, as we have heard through the debate and the briefing. The level of MSP involvement that they have managed to secure is highly impressive. In previous years, I have met apprentices at Orkney builders, although every second apprentice that I came across seemed to be a fellow member of the Sandy Parish Cup team. This year, I went instead to visit Fraser Electrical in Finston, where I met Bruce Simpson and the team of apprentices there, much like Ruth Maguire. They were at various stages of their apprenticeship, but they were all very positive about the experience that they had, the skills that they were gaining through their apprenticeship. If there was a concern, it would simply be that having an afternoon in which to take forward the apprenticeship was often not necessarily long enough to enable meaningful work to be undertaken, and that might be something that needs to be looked at. However, as for apprenticeship week itself, it does successfully serve to help to raise awareness about the importance of work-based learning. There is also a need not just to expand the number but the range of those who see apprenticeships as a way of helping them to fulfil their potential. Too often, individuals can be pigeonholed into apprenticeships and others down a more academic route. As we have probably all seen at a local level, that is to misunderstand the value of apprenticeships. Looking at the statistics from SDS, it is encouraging to see the increased number of modern apprenticeships in the STEM frameworks. That needs to be improved yet further, as well as the proportion of female participation. However, following on the point made by Emma Harper and having raised that in the past, while I was a member of the Education Committee indeed, I am pleased to see the increased number of modern apprenticeships drawn from traditionally underrepresented groups, whether that be those with a disability, those with care experience, those from ethnic minority groups. Again, I think that everybody would accept that there is still a way to go there. However, that is indeed encouraging. Ian Gray is also right to remind us that we need to look beyond and behind the statistics. Nevertheless, the direction of travel seems to be positive. Having set out a positive prognosis for the apprenticeship programme, I want to spend a couple of minutes before concluding on a concern that I have been raising with the minister previously with correspondence on this last year. Although CITB is at a local level, I know excellent work. There is a real concern about the move away from indentured craft apprenticeships. There has disappeared to have been a lack of consultation prior consultation before this decision was taken. It is a feeling that the needs of SME-sized construction firms are not being properly reflected. The concern raised with me is that there is a dilution of the value and the attractiveness of apprenticeships. I know that the minister wrote to me last year that he was going to update me on the engagement with the UK Government on the review of the industry training boards, and perhaps he can do that in winding up. However, I look forward to taking part in the apprentice for the day in due course. We need to reassure my constituents that they will be under strict supervision. I will not be allowed to rewire anybody's house, despite my presence at Fraser Electrical earlier this month. I congratulate Jamie Halcro Johnston on securing a very worthwhile debate. I hope that the efforts of SDS through apprenticeship week and through apprentice for the day will encourage more people to see this work-based learning as a way of fulfilling their potential. Before I move on to Ms Hawke, there are still a few members wishing to speak, so I am happy to accept a motion under rule 8.14.3 to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I now ask Jamie Halcro Johnston to move the motion. I move. No member has disagreed. I therefore extend the debate on understanding order rule 8.14.3, and I call Clare Hawke to be followed by Rachael Hamilton. First of all, I would also like to thank Jamie Halcro Johnston for bringing today's debate to the chamber. Mr Johnston was one of three MSPs to submit a motion for Scottish Apprenticeship week 2018, and I am grateful that his was marked for members' business, so it could be debated here today. I tabled one of the three motions, however, mine acted as an amendment to another in order to ensure that the Scottish Government, trade unions and professional bodies were all recognised for their roles in developing, supporting and sustaining apprenticeships. Without all partners working together, the range of apprenticeships in Scotland would not have been able to grow to the level that they have done over the last decade. In my opinion, the aim of Scottish Apprenticeship week is twofold. First of all, to highlight the enormous opportunities that they offer in allowing people to work and earn, all while studying for a recognised qualification, and the second to celebrate businesses that value training their employees. For the last two years, during Scottish Apprenticeship week, I have been delighted to visit employers and apprentices in my constituency. Last year, I had the opportunity to see Arnold Clark's Rutherglen branch, and it struck me during the time there that not only do the apprentices themselves see their experiences being overwhelmingly positive—the company do, too. At the time of my visit last year, Barry Johnson, a service manager at the branch, said that the apprenticeships that he works with are, and I quote, invaluable to the business. As we have heard from previous speakers, the theme of this year's Scottish Apprenticeship week was apprentices are the business. Bringing recognition to the value that work-based learning brings to employers across the country, and to mark this year's initiative, I visited MD electrical contractors limited, which is based less than 200 yards from my constituency office in Rutherglen. As with the majority of apprenticeships across the country, MD electrical contractors have taken on a number of young adults and school leavers. Unfortunately, there is a belief among some people that, once school studies have ended, they must go into further education or attend college or university. Of course, that is a myth, as many people go straight into the world of work and lead very successful lives, while others see apprenticeships as the avenue that suits them best. For those I met at MD electrical contractors, it was clear to them that undertaking an apprenticeship was the best move for their chosen career path. I would like to raise a third and final employer from my constituency who has made great use of the apprenticeship scheme, which is Clyde Gateway. Clyde Gateway is Scotland's largest and most ambitious regeneration programme. As a partnership between Glasgow City Council, South Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Enterprise, it is working to achieve unparalleled social, economic and physical change across Rutherglen and the east end of Glasgow. It is a major source of employment locally. From the figures kindly supplied to me by Nicky Spence and Jim Clark, they have directly created 58 apprenticeships, the vast majority of which are in construction. However, another myth that we must collectively bust is that apprenticeships are for men. A number of Clyde Gateway's construction apprenticeship opportunities have gone to women, although they have recently awarded permanent contracts to three females who had gone through finance and administration modern apprenticeships. I would like to thank Skills Development Scotland for their briefing paper, which showed that 60 per cent of modern apprenticeships starts last year were male, while 40 per cent were female. The increase in the proportion of female starts on level 3 and above has risen each year since 2014-15. However, we must not rest on our laurels until apprenticeships provide the same opportunities to women as they do to men. We have heard that MSPs are being encouraged to become an apprentice for the day at some point during this year, and I look forward to meeting that challenge too. Scottish Apprenticeship Week may have ended at the start of March, but we must not forget to promote their benefits all year round. I would like to draw members' attention to my register of interests as a business owner and as a modern apprenticeship employer. In fact, Skills Development Scotland got in touch with me when they knew that I was interested in going to apprenticeship week and getting involved, and they suggested that I went to my own business. Thank you, Jamie, for bringing this debate to Parliament today. I visited a business called Forbes Technology in Kelso, and they specialised in the production of industrial plastic tanks and virtually every field of industrial activity worldwide. The Forbes apprenticeship scheme sees the trainees undertake a vigorous programme that includes on-the-job training in the state-of-the-art 3D computer-aided design technology, and apprenticeships can actually work towards a qualification in mechanical engineering. Apprentices learn invaluable skills over their course of the time at Forbes, specialising in skills such as industrialised welding for fibreglass. I would like to sing the praises of one of the apprenticeships who studied modern apprenticeship. In order to do that, he had to spend time away from home, and that was not ideal, but he stuck with it. Three years down the line, he is developing his skills and has recently taken on a mortgage to buy a home in Kelso. To think that modern apprenticeships encourage local people to live and work in their own communities is so important, and on the point of young people leaving home to study, sometimes that does not suit everybody, whether it is the transport issues, whether it is the expense or the thought of leaving friends and family. Skills Development Scotland are aware of that and have worked with the local training provider to deliver the theory element of the qualification closer to Kelso to support those young people. The young person that I met clearly demonstrated the value of apprenticeships and why this Parliament must do as much as possible to get promoter and get behind it. I also want to mention Borders College, who are responding to sectorial needs and offer an array of modern apprenticeship courses from business to construction, engineering, health and social care. Borders College plays a strong and important role in preparing young boarders for future life, where they can make a real difference to the economy, socially and financially. I also want to use this debate to bring the attention to the minister that, when I visited Forbes Technology, every single person in that building doing these very technical engineering jobs are male. I would like to make a plea that we can really put some effort into increasing the opportunities for young women in STEM subjects. One of my focuses as a local MSP for the boarders is to make it an even better place for young people to live and work, and one of the ways that I have done this recently was to host an event that invited schools. 150 school pupils from across the board are highlighting the opportunities that we have in different sectors, particularly in tourism and hospitality, but also in apprenticeships. The sector across Scotland faces a skills gap, and apprenticeships can act as a bridge to close that gap and prepare not only the future workforce in the sector but also actively help to evolve to grow that sector. The same skills shortages are felt in other sectors. One sector that has had recent attention is the tech sector. Again, Borders College has taken the initiative by offering a coding class to young teens. That is a super encouraging move, because we will all soon face a world where coding becomes an essential skill. To take full advantage, we must encourage apprenticeships in those industries, and there is so much opportunity in Scotland that we can explore. To do that, we must help to knock down barriers of entry that stand in the way and barriers of entry that are felt in every industry from engineering to tech to hospitality to tourism. I say that we promote apprenticeship schemes to knock down barriers and ensure that Scotland retains its world-class status in areas that I have just mentioned. I have been championing young people since I became an MSP, and I hope that the Borders College will become a better place to live and work for everyone. Soon, I look forward, like others, to take up the challenge of becoming an apprenticeship. I have asked my team in my office to look for something that is involved in maybe gin making. Lastly, I wish that all apprenticeships and businesses that get involved with the training continue to succeed. David Torrance, who is followed by Gordon MacDonald. I would also like to thank Jamie Halcro Johnston for bringing this motion to Parliament today to recognise the importance of Scottish Apprenticeship Week. The programme has proven time and time again the benefits that it brings to individuals, businesses and the economy. It pulls together employers, apprentices, training providers, colleges, councils, schools and many other partners to create and celebrate a week of work-based learning that proves invaluable for young people across Scotland. Apprenticeships are a solution to balancing academic education with work-based learning. A Scottish apprenticeship programme matches young people from secondary school to graduate level, with companies and businesses that give them a chance to explore fields that they are interested in, meet with working professionals and help them to form the skills and connections that are needed to advance in their careers. From an employer's perspective, those apprentices are also beneficial. They offer opportunities to find young talent and allowing employers to co-ordinate with schools, colleges and training providers to ensure that apprentices have the ability to learn the skills that they require. The success of the Scottish Apprenticeship programme is evident by expansion that it has achieved over the past few years. The flagship programme, the modern apprenticeship, is on track to have over 27,000 young people engaged in an apprenticeship this year. The foundation apprenticeship, introduced four years ago, opened up its doors to secondary school pupils, bringing education closer to industry. The graduate apprenticeship programme, offered for the first time this year, increased the scope of young people involved to include those seeking a diploma of higher education up to master's degree, allowing them to attain a certification by an employment. The continued growth in participation in the Scottish Apprenticeship programme can be attributed to the value that both our young people and employers gain from it. During the Scottish Apprenticeship week, I welcomed the opportunity to witness the value of the programme first hand. My visit to G1 Reeds in Cercodi gave me a challenging start. I had to find out where it was and its unassuming residential front caused me to be surprised when, on entering the building, the first thing that greeted me was a World Pipe Band Championship trophy. I was impressed when I found that G1 Reeds makes the very recent chanters that were chosen by 2017 World Pipe Band Champions. I understand how G1 Reeds has achieved such global success when I witnessed the meticulous work that their dedicated team creates. The Reeds chanters and other pipe band products that are produced by the company are of the highest standards. The small company employs eight people into apprenticeships. It was inspiring to see how enthusiastically two young apprentices were about the work that they were doing and how dedicated they were to ensuring that their work was of the finest quality. G1 Reeds was definitely the most unusual workplace that I have ever visited, but I left absolutely impressed and sure that the Scottish Apprenticeship programme provides countless benefits to both apprentices and their employer. In conclusion, I would again like to thank Jamie Halcro Johnston for bringing this motion for debate to chamber. The Scottish Apprenticeship week is worth celebrating for its highlights achievements that its programme has produced in the short time running. Personally, the Scottish Apprenticeship week allowed me to discover a very talented company in my constituency and see exactly how and fully enthusiastic the apprentices are engaged in the business and the work that they do. I thank Jamie Halcro Johnston for securing this debate. During this year's Scottish Apprenticeship week, I was invited by the Apex hotel group, who are headquartered in my constituency, to visit one of their hotels to meet some of the modern apprentices. I spent an enjoyable afternoon speaking to the young people about what the benefits were of undertaking a modern apprenticeship and their experience of working for the Apex group. They highlighted the benefits of earning while you are learning, on-the-job training, where you can develop skills through hands-on experience and support from the company to improve their qualifications. Apex hotel's modern apprenticeship scheme was launched back in 2012 by the then Minister for Youth Employment, Angela Constance, to set young people up for a career in hospitality. The programme gives apprentices the opportunity to learn skills and acquire knowledge in many different areas, from food and beverage to front office, from housekeeping to catering. The family-owned hotel group aims to make working as a modern apprentice a positive, educational and tailored experience, providing the knowledge, skillset and confidence to set the apprentices on the right track for a fulfilling and rewarding career within the hospitality, leisure and tourism sector. Since my visit at the beginning of the month, when Apex hotels had 43 apprentices, they have taken on an additional 11 young people taking their current number of apprentices to 54. Having seen the benefits of their approach to the business, the Apex hotel group then became one of the five founding members of the Scottish apprenticeship and hospitality programme, a programme that was created in 2014 along with the Glen Eagles Hotel, Blythwood Square Hotel, Cameron House Hotel and the Torriddon Hotel. There are now 14 hotels in Scotland that are delivering this programme. This two-year course, with an option of a specialised third year, is a world-class industry-led hospitality programme aimed at 17 to 24-year-olds and allows young people to work on real projects with experienced colleagues and reflect and develop their work through practice. The apprenticeship was created to attract the best young people in Scotland to consider hospitality as a rewarding career opportunity at a time when, because of the growth of leisure travel and tourism over the past decade, we are seeing an inevitable global expansion of the hospitality and tourism industries. What helps to make this programme unique is the opportunity to participate in learning journeys and masterclasses that are designed and delivered by top industry professionals. The benefits of an apprenticeship to young people have been clearly illustrated through this debate. However, as the theme of this year's Scottish apprenticeship week is business, I wanted to finish by mentioning why Apex hotel group make this investment in young people and their career development. It has mentioned two things to me. One, it gives them the chance to grow their own talent because they deliver the training, they know their apprenticeships, their apprentices' best and can provide them with the support and mentoring that is right for the individual, allowing them to succeed in the company's environment. Secondly, this mentoring, coaching and confidence building makes the Apex hotel group an attractive employer somewhere where people want to work and that plays an important part in their staff retention. Presiding Officer, apprenticeships in Scotland have come a long way and the benefits that they bring are well recognised. They provide the opportunities that our young people need and the expertise that our industries require. As Scotland builds a skilled workforce that needs for the future, it is clear to me that apprenticeships will play a significant role in that. The last of the open debate contributions is Fulton MacGregor. I, too, would like to thank Jamie Halford-Johnston for bringing that very important issue to the chamber. Yesterday, I was a timely reminder of the importance of modern apprenticeships in developing our young workforce when TOM in Erdre announced its closure with hundreds of jobs to be lost, as I raised today First Minister's questions. Although not directly in my constituency, it is indeed very near and I know for a fact that many of the jobs at risk will be from Co-Bridge, and I welcome the First Minister's response and commitment to that. As many of you may remember, I brought a similar motion to debate last year in anticipation of the Scottish Apprenticeship week, an event that I have now had the honour of participating in the second year of running. The Scottish Apprenticeship week 2018 had a successful run in the week of 5 March, with 99 organised visits by MSPs and ministers from all over Scotland meeting with foundation, modern and graduate apprentices. I personally had the pleasure of meeting with a few modern apprentices at the Gart Cosh-based Walkview Nursery, in which the training they get and work they do really exemplify the theme for this year, which was, as Gordon MacDonald said, apprenticeships are the business. Recognising the value such apprentices bring to employers across the nation, and this programme is such an extraordinary opportunity for our young people to take advantage of the paid work-based learning process of an apprenticeship, ultimately making them attractive to employers and more likely to move into employment. The nursery itself is doing outstanding job in equipping future childcare providers with qualifications for the specific role and the transferable skills across the sector. That work is particularly necessary right now, as the Scottish Government's commitment to increasing early learning and childcare free entitlement is scheduled to go from 600 hours to 1,404 hours by 2020. That will undoubtedly create greater demand for those trained in childcare, and that is apprenticeship programme not only furthers the careers of young people, but it can be crucial component of answering the changing demands of their economy. As I said earlier, this is not my first year, but it is in the great work of the apprenticeship programme. I also had the chance to visit Monklands hospital last year, where I spoke with Graham apprentices about their programme and training methods. Both were great experiences, and I have to say I heard from very enthusiastic young people on both occasions. Presiding Officer, I am predictable for you in sticking with the constituency. I recently welcomed the minister, Jamie Hepburn, to steps for his visit to solutions-driven recruitment, a firm involving recruitment challenges for employers. There, he heard about the good work that the firm has accomplished in its 20-year history and celebrated both its platinum certification by investors and people and their gold award in good practice for investors and young people, both of which speak to the SDR's commitment to the recruitment, training and retention of young people in the workforce. I can confirm, as other members have taken the chance to do, that I will take part in the SDS's apprenticeship for a day programme in my constituency over the coming months, not yet determined where that will be. In conclusion, Presiding Officer, apprenticeships are a vital part of supporting our young people into working. The extra investment that has focused over the past decade has transformed apprenticeships across the board. Countries with well-developed vocational learning systems and significant employer engagement have the lowest levels of youth unemployment, so by investing in modern apprenticeships, we are paving a better future for all of our children. Apprenticeships are particularly beneficial to those who may feel that college or university is not the best fit for them instead of penalising such young adults. Apprenticeships offer them an equally rewarding and successful path into the world of employment. Apprenticeships are a vital part of building a stronger Scotland in ensuring that we have a talented, multi-skilled workforce that will help build our economy. It is in all of our interest to ensure that modern apprenticeships are easily and equally accessible to all Scotland's young people, and that we develop the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. I now call J.B. Hepburn to respond to the debate around seven minutes, please, minister. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I join with others in thanking Jamie Halcro Johnston for bringing the debate to the chamber. I also thank those members who have taken time to contribute. We have had a large number of contributions this afternoon. I am very much welcome. It reflects the chamber's cross-party interest in the subject matter, which is very welcome. I join with Mr Halcro Johnston in thanking Skills Development Scotland for the work that it undertakes year-round in terms of apprenticeships. In particular, in the Scottish Apprenticeship week, we should also place on record our thanks to training providers and colleges for the training that they put in place. It is always very important to thank employers, because we must remember that every apprentice is an employee, and we rely on employers to take them on. Without their commitment, it would not be possible to welcome the great expansion in the number of apprentices we have seen. We must recognise the commitment that they make, including because we need to ensure that employer input into the design of our apprenticeship system, the Scottish Apprenticeship advisory board, which is facilitated through Skills Development Scotland, contains many representatives of industry and other interested parties in informing our system. I join Mr Burnett in calling on more employers to get involved and take part in taking on apprentices. I offer some moderate words of caution to what he mentioned. In the first instance, we probably should not be talking about tradesmen, we should be talking about tradespeople, because we do not want to reinforce gender stereotypes, which is a significant challenge for us in apprenticeships. However, just as genuinely, we probably should avoid—certainly we want those involved in the trades to be taking on more apprentices, but we should not be talking about them in exclusion, because, as we have heard today, our apprenticeship offering goes much wider than just the trades. Talking about that, particularly that in itself, it sometimes reinforces misperceptions and misconceptions about what apprenticeships are all about. In relation to Scottish Apprenticeship week itself, I have to say that, given that we had the full blast of winter the week before its full wrath unleashed across Scotland, I was a little apprehensive about the possible impact that we might have seen on the number of scheduled events and visits. In that regard, I have to say that Mr Gray actually got his visit timed absolutely correctly, because he must have been one of the few people who managed to source the supply of milk that particular week, so his was very convenient. Despite the challenges of the weather, he brought us, thanks to the resilience and commitment of everyone involved, including those in the chamber and other members who took part. There was minimal impact. We have had a number of people referred to the fact that there were 99 visits by MSPs over the week. People have obviously drawn that from the SDS briefing. I suppose that I have somewhat of an advantage in that I engage with skills in Scotland probably, but I will regularly invoke that number. Upwards, we have had 103 visits in total over the course of the week, with 25 ministerial engagements. In itself, 103 visits were up from 90 the year before making the 8th Scottish Apprenticeship week one of the biggest and best yet. For me, that is very important, because we have Tom Arthur, Ruth Maguire and others have correctly talked about the need for us to ensure better parity of esteem between vocational education and apprenticeships, in particular, and other forms of post-school destination. That is a challenge that I take very seriously. We have had that challenge historically, which is why I mentioned that I was being cautious about talking about just the trades in isolation. We are trying to invest time and effort in improving parity of esteem through careers advice and our vocational offer in the school environment. I understand that. It was Mr Halcro Johnston who was offering some words of caution about the pace in relation to the foundation apprenticeships. I think that, if we looked at it reasonably, two years ago, we had just around 340 odd foundation apprenticeships starting that year. This year, we saw around 1,200 starting next year. We are seeing 2,600 in the year after our commitments to 5,000. That is pretty significant growth in a short period of time, and our ambitions go further still. Embedding that in the school environment was, of course, opening up the minds of young people and teachers and parents, because that is critical to understanding the apprenticeship offer in which young people are still at school. I will not go over everyone's visits over the course of the week. It is very heartening to hear that there was a range of different visits, and everyone found it enjoyable and rewarding experience. That is certainly what I found in the visits that I undertook. I went to see Strathley partnership for Transport, the Brwmwun depot for Glasgow Subway, and I was very delighted to see that they were taking on their first batch of apprenticeships for some considerable time, critically including the provision of apprenticeship opportunities for some people who had worked for them for a long period of time getting the chance to upskill. Some guys in their early thirties who worked for them for about 12 years getting the opportunity of an apprenticeship did happen to be guys in this case. That is another reminder that we need to broaden out those participating. I also went to see a meet with over 40 apprentices in the hospitality sector, including, and I should mention her, Rosie Wilkins, who works at the Torriddon Hotel, who was the Scottish Apprentice of the Year in 2017. I met with over 40 apprentices working in the hospitality sector. Mr McDonald will be delighted to hear that the Apex group was represented. That is an important example of a sector that has traditionally been viewed as somewhat transient, not a long-term career. The fact that there are apprenticeships in there is very welcome, because it shows that we can build a career. Let me just sum up. There were a couple of issues raised around the quality agenda. That is something that we take very seriously. Indeed, Skills Development Scotland is working to the quality action plan. We have seen some improvements. We must see more. We will continue to work on that. On the apprenticeship levy that Mr Halcro Johnston mentioned, I will very happily say that we are taking a different approach from that that we see in England, because what we have seen over the first three quarters of this year is our performance in terms of the number of stats that 70 per cent of the target that we have set for the year has started by the first three quarters. The same point in 2016-17 was in England in the first two quarters since the introduction of apprenticeship levy. In the first quarter, we saw a 59.3 per cent reduction in the number of apprentices in the same period from year before. In the second quarter, we saw a 26 per cent reduction. That is very much on the basis of us having a high quality offer, because we are not following what has been done in England. I believe that it is a too ambitious target in terms of the raw numbers, which has led to concerns about a diminishing quality. That is not what we are doing here. We will not have a high-quality product. That is what we all want to see. That is what Scottish Apprenticeship Week should remind us about. I am very much welcome the fact that we have had the chance to debate that this afternoon. That concludes the debate, and this meeting is suspended until 2.30pm.