Scotland’s food and drink industry has received a major boost after the Scottish Government agreed to invest more than £2 million to fund modern apprenticeships in the sector over the next years.

The cash will cover the training costs of 972 apprentice places, a two-thirds increase on the number of places funded in the food and drink industry last year.

Employers are now being urged to step forward to take advantage of the funding, which is available to train apprentices of any age.

Kelvin Thomson, development manager for Improve Scotland, the food and drink skills council, said: “Earlier this year we reached the milestone of having 1,000 apprentices employed in the Scottish food and drink industry for the first time since the introduction of modern apprenticeships in the late 1990s. This funding settlement will double that number in the space of 12 months, which is fantastic news for the industry.

“This is recognition that the industry is thriving, jobs are available and employers are eager to both take on new recruits and train up existing employees to further increase productivity and performance. Food and drink companies are making a vital contribution to Scotland’s economy, and it is pleasing that the government is prepared to invest to support that continued success.”

In 2008, Improve successfully lobbied the Scottish Government to abolish the age cap of 19 on funding for modern apprenticeships, and to create a two-tier system by introducing a Level 2 apprenticeship to complement the existing Level 3 programme.

As a result, modern apprenticeship numbers in the food and drink industry soared from 25 to more than 600 in the space of the year.

“Modern apprenticeships are proven to add real value to businesses by improving performance on the job,” said Thomson. “We always argued that opening them up so they were available to employees of all ages at different stages of skills development, rather than focusing on developing technical skills in young recruits, would yield much better returns.

“The funding available will cover the full training costs of any employee of any age whether they take the modern apprenticeship at Level 2 or 3 - all the employer has to pay is normal wages. All training can be delivered on-site so there is no time off the job and minimal disruption to work schedules.”

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