Scottish businesses offered support for apprentices
Posted on November 04th 2009
The Scottish government has introduced funding for small and medium sized businesses in the country to safeguard apprentice's jobs as they become less valuable during the recession.
Certain sectors will benefit from £75 a week from the government, towards the cost of their apprentices, making up at least 20% of the wages paid by most businesses. The scheme will be available until March 31, 2010 and will give the construction industry, manufacturing and engineering firms with a boost and enable them to keep employing the staff that are the key to their future.
Apprentices provide companies with an opportunity to pass on the skills of their trade and also provide other staff members with motivation when it comes to training the youngsters. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has welcomed the new initiative, following the redundancies of more than 1,100 apprentices.
The Scottish National Party announced that businesses who felt the need to make apprentices redundant could do so; they would then still receive their education at college, however these defeated the idea of the apprenticeship scheme which offers young people a chance to obtain on the job training and pick up the skills of colleagues.
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