The number of electrical industry apprentices in Scotland has gone up by 12%, and the trade body has put the rise down to the industry’s post-recession confidence
Greater employment prospects have encouraged 650 people to sign up for apprenticeships and adult training scheme places run by the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (Sectt) this year, up from 580 last year.
Apprenticeship numbers, a key target for the industry and the Scottish Government, are now at the highest numbers since the depths of the recession in 2009-10.
Sectt chief executive Anne Galbraith welcomed the steady upward progress.
She said companies are taking on more of the skilled tradesmen of the future.
They have also stuck with the training programmes through the bad times of the past few years.
“While some areas of Scotland are doing better in terms of economic recovery than others, we are seeing a gradual upward incline in the take-up of apprentice places,” she said.
“That is a more sustainable situation than sudden peaks and steep troughs.
“There is a huge amount of building going on in Scotland at the moment, and the supply chain is benefiting enormously from major infrastructure projects such as the new Forth Crossing and the re-opened Borders Railway.
“Regions such as the Central Belt, particularly Edinburgh and the Lothians, are seeing significant levels of activity.
“Even the Aberdeen area is holding up in terms of construction schemes despite the problems caused by the fall in the oil price.”
Of the 650 people joining the sector this year, 105 are adult trainees and many of them are over the age of 25 who previously worked in other construction industry roles.
The electrical training added more value to the employment skills of people with construction industry connections.
Pre-apprenticeships are also on the rise in Sectt’s 19 centres across the country, and employers are increasingly recruiting apprentices from these ranks.
Newell McGuiness, managing director of Select, the industry’s campaigning trade body, said: “The rising numbers of companies investing in high-level training of this nature reflects a rising confidence across the board and a more hopeful outlook for the future.”
With a more settled political landscape after the Scottish referendum campaign and this year’s UK general election, he said it is reasonable to expect confidence levels to continue to hold up.