The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations announced on Friday 2nd June that they are launching more ambitious plans that will help them increase the number of apprenticeships offered in the industry. The plan that has been published by the Federation is called the Housing Apprenticeship Action Plan for Scotland 2017-2020. It appears that the title of the plan is fairly self explanatory and with look at the different ways that could lead to the increase of Modern Apprenticeships available in the sector in Scotland.

The plan has been released in order to reflect the Scottish Government’s dedication to grow and expand the opportunities for Modern Apprenticeships in the country. The Government are wanting to create an environment that would encourage the formation of motivated employees that are wanting to work in the housing sector. The Scottish Government also want to make sure that they are making the Housing Sector of the construction industry an appealing career path for young people starting out in their working life.

The Housing Apprenticeship Action Plan for Scotland will carry on developing the initiatives that were first created in 2014 by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. The 2014 initiative look to highlight the importance of apprenticeships within the construction industry and especially within the House Building sector during a period where more and more houses are starting to be constructed in order to meet the demand that has built up after a number of years with low levels of houses being built.

One of the initiative that has already proved to be successful for Scotland is the Apprenticeship Challenge. This award winning scheme ran for three years and was a competition that was held for young workers. It is hoped that there will be more flexible funding brought in through this plan which should help young people get started on apprenticeships and will then fill the skills gap in the House building sector.