Backing Scotland’s Colleges and Apprenticeships (Amendment 3)
S6M-19253.3: As an amendment to motion S6M-19253 in the name of Murdo Fraser (Backing Scotland&rsquo;s Colleges and Apprenticeships), leave out from &ldquo;with concern&rdquo; to end and insert &ldquo;the Audit Scotland report entitled, Scotland&rsquo;s colleges 2025, and the importance of continued investment in Scotland&rsquo;s colleges and skills system to support inclusive economic success, prosperity and job creation, including provision of around three quarters of a billion pounds in Scotland&rsquo;s colleges in 2025-26, and an additional &pound;3.5 million for skills, through the Scottish Budget; acknowledges that this is particularly important in the thriving sectors, like those critical to realising the transition to net zero, and the shared opportunities of this; recognises the key role that colleges, employers and training providers have played in ensuring that 93% of school leavers have a positive destination, and providing apprenticeships and training to a record 39,000 individuals, and notes, however, concern about the impact of Brexit and the UK Government's migration system, which is contributing to key skills gaps and labour market shortages.&rdquo;

Original motion(S6M-19253):
That the Parliament&nbsp;recognises that future economic growth is reliant on providing the right opportunities to create good jobs that allow businesses to expand; notes with concern the findings of the recent Audit Scotland report, highlighting a 20% real-terms cut in funding to the college sector over the past five years, and believes that this has a negative impact on the economy and limits opportunities for young people to get ahead; acknowledges the concern from business representative groups about the future of apprenticeships, and the harm that a restriction in apprenticeship numbers causes to job creation in Scotland, and calls on the Scottish Government to restore funding to Scotland&rsquo;s colleges and raise the number of modern apprenticeship places from 25,507 in 2024-25 to at least the 34,000 identified by Skills Development Scotland as necessary to meet Scottish economic growth ambitions.