Government should prioritise money for apprenticeships, say Tories

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives has said the Scottish Government tends to “prioritise spending money” elsewhere instead of on apprenticeships.

On a visit to Edinburgh College to mark Scottish Apprenticeship Week, Russell Findlay met with various technical apprentices.

He watched automotive apprentices work on cars and talked with engineering apprentices in their classrooms.

He said: “I have been blown away by the knowledge that these young people, or mostly young people, are getting in respect of the oil and gas industry, automotive… and this is setting them up for jobs for life.”

He said the Scottish Conservatives want to see the apprenticeship budget “restored” as they say the Scottish Government has implemented cuts to college budgets.

He said: “There’s a gap between the money that the Scottish Government receives for apprenticeship spending and what is actually spent on apprenticeships.

“Because, of course, the SNP Government prioritise spending money on things they shouldn’t spend money on, such as independence propaganda or two ferries costing half a billion pounds that are dodgy and will never be fully right, I suspect.

“We want the college budget to be restored. We’ve seen a 20% cut in budgets for colleges like these, who are producing the workforce of today and tomorrow.

“Whether it’s repairing cars, whether it’s the future of electric vehicles, whether it’s oil and gas or indeed renewables, these young people are going to power Scotland for the decades to come.

“But the SNP cut off the money. We would restore that in full to ensure that these colleges, pound for pound, they are producing workers that the employers cry out for.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It is simply wrong to suggest that Scotland receives a specific allocation of levy revenue – we instead receive a share of UK Government departmental spending.

“Ministers are committed to ensuring that the funding we do receive is used effectively to support skills development and apprenticeships across Scotland.

“Over 39,000 modern apprentices are in workplace training thanks to the willingness of Scotland’s employers to apprenticeships. This is being backed by £198 million in Scottish Government investment.

“We deeply value all of our colleges and the important contributions they make. That is why the 2026-27 budget delivers an increase of £70 million, equivalent to 10% uplift on last year’s budget, taking our total investment in core college funding to £764 million.”