Apprentices would be given access to the same bursaries and loans as university students under plans unveiled by the Scottish Labour leadership contender Ken Macintosh.
During a visit to the Care Village in Kirkcaldy a £7.5 million project that will comprise a 60-bed care home and 26 affordable houses the Eastwood MSP said it was time his party was “explicitly anti-austerity”.
Mr Macintosh’s policies include promising 100,000 new college places and building 30,000 new homes every year, half of which would be for social rent and 10% would have disabled access.
“Housing is one of the best examples of how we illustrate our alternative economic approach, meeting a pressing social need, investing in jobs and apprentices and growing the economy,” he said.
“Directing resources towards small to medium-sized house-builders is far more sustainable and will have a far more beneficial impact on the national and local economies around Scotland than subsidising multinationals.”
He added: “Free university tuition has been lauded while college places have been lost hand over fist. This has been doubly damaging, reducing the number of Scots in further education while reinforcing the damaging message that everyone should aspire to an academic qualification and ultimately a university degree.
“I want Labour to promote vocational education. I want a country where we make, build and manufacture once more and that means providing a skilled, trained and qualified workforce.
“That is why I want Scottish Labour to promise 100,000 new college places and to provide access to education for every Scot from 18 to 80.
“Apprenticeships are a crucial part of any new emphasis on vocational and technical education, yet currently the national minimum wage for apprentices sits at £2.73 an hour.
“As Scottish Labour leader I will recognise the educational status of apprentices by offering them the same access to bursaries and loans as would be available to students in academic education.”
Although he doesn’t agree with many of the policies of frontrunner for the UK top job Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Macintosh said the fact the left-winger has offered a straightforward, principled position is what’s won him support and challenged the other candidates to do the same.
“We need to be clear about what we stand for,” he said. “We need to offer an alternative economic policy and not sound like a watered-down version of the Conservatives.
“No more abstentions, no more positioning. Under my leadership, Scottish Labour will be clearly and explicitly anti-austerity.”