Glasgow to take on 1000 more apprentices

 

© The Herald Originally published: 20/11/2009

A SCHEME offering apprenticeships to every Glasgow school leaver who qualifies is to be extended for a second year.

Last year Glasgow City Council set up the Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative and so far around 1,000 teenagers have been given an apprenticeship or training that will lead to one.

Council leader Steven Purcell announced the plan to extend the scheme for another year at a conference today on the state of the city's economy.

And he called on city firms to do their bit to ensure young people get the training that will help Glasgow as it clambers out of the recession.
 
The news came as it was revealed Glasgow was coping with the recession far better than most other UK cities.

Mr Purcell told key decision makers from the public and private sector: "I remember only too well what happened in this city during the 1980s - because it happened to my school mates.

"They were thrown on the scrap heap as skills and training fell down the priority list.

"A generation was dumped on the dole queue without the opportunity to learn a trade and get a job. We must never allow that to happen again.

"However, the council can't do this on its own.

"The council has doubled the number of apprentices it has taken on this year and some of our arms-length companies - such as City Building - have more than doubled their intake. We are running close to capacity.

"I am criticising nobody when I say the uptake from the private sector - and some other public sector employers - was disappointing.

"I understand the severity of this recession but if we - as a city united - are going to build the highly-skilled workforce we require, then we need more employers to do their bit.

"I ask employers large and small to think again about whether they can support the city's apprenticeship drive and also to keep it in mind whenever the recovery comes."

Mr Purcell said the city is continuing to survive the recession better than most of the rest of the UK.

Research has found Glasgow no longer depends on heavy industry, such as shipbuilding, meaning it is not as vulnerable to the downturn in manufacturing brought on by the current financial crisis.

Mr Purcell highlighted the International Financial Services Sector, which attracted 1,300 new jobs this summer and is on target to meet its long-term job creation target of 20,000 posts.

The city centre continues to attract investment with the opening of major stores, including toy seller Hamleys in the St Enoch Centre extension, while around 900,000sq ft of office space has been created this year, providing the basis for future jobs growth.

And the number of people claiming Job Seekers' Allowance has increased at a slower rate than similar sized cities in England.

Mr Purcell said: "Glasgow is still open for business. It is important to remember the advances we have made over the past decade.

"That has seen unemployment down, more jobs created, a more skilled workforce and investment flooding into the city.

"We must ensure Glasgow comes out of the recession stronger than we went in."

Scots Secretary Jim Murphy said: "Glasgow is a major world city with a bright future. It has always adapted to the challenges it has faced and will continue to do so."

Crawford Gillies, chairman of Scottish Enterprise, said: "Glasgow has proven itself one of the most dynamic cities in Scotland.

"However, recovery will not happen overnight and much of what the public and private sectors achieve together in the coming months and years will determine the success not just of the extent and pace of the recovery but also of Scotland's economic future."

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, added: "Major initiatives, such as winning the right to host the Commonwealth Games, have created economic and employment opportunities.

"Large infrastructure projects are under way, including Clyde Gateway, the East End regeneration route and M74 completion, in addition to other major projects, such as the National Arena, the extension to the SECC, the Riverside Transport Museum and the massive contract for the new South Glasgow Hospital."