Glasgow City Council has announced the Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative is to be continued.

Council Leader, Councillor Steven Purcell, said he wanted to focus on preparing for the economic upturn by building up the pool of skilled labour within the city.

More than 1000 qualified school leavers who applied to the scheme launched in March 2008, are now in an apprenticeship or on a National Progression Award that will lead to an apprenticeship.

Councillor Purcell also said that although he understood the effects of the recession on the private sector he wanted to increase employer participation in this scheme, and that the Council and Skills Development Scotland could help support firms with allowances, wage subsidies, training providers and administrative support.

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In addition, Glasgow Works, the partnership tasked with delivering the city’s welfare to work strategy and tackling worklessness among key groups of people has already created 100 posts with £2 million from the Future Jobs Fund and will invest a further £500,000 to develop the skills of the young people its recruited.

Glasgow Works is also pioneering two schemes to get people with long-term illnesses into work.

The first is a £500,000 scheme to get them ready for work, and the second a £1000 payment to employers who give someone on health related benefits a start.

Councillor Purcell said: "This is an opportunity for us to look toward the longer term requirements of the city economy, of which training and upskilling Glasgow’s citizens play a huge part, and look toward some of the measures we can adopt to build for the future. Even in recession, there are opportunities for cities like this one – at the forefront of city development – to position ourselves ahead of our competitors.

"I don't know how long this recession will last, but I do know that at some point we will come out of it and when that happens, we must ensure that Glasgow comes out of it stronger than when we went in."

(GK/BMcc)