Scotland is on course for a sharp fall in apprenticeship starts after a Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers' Federation (SNIPEF) survey found one in three plumbing and heating employers do not plan to take on an apprentice over the next three years. SNIPEF says this would break with long-standing recruitment trends and jeopardise the skilled workforce needed for public safety and decarbonisation.

The findings, set out in SNIPEF's Apprenticeships Under Pressure report, show employers remain committed to high training standards but say escalating costs are rendering recruitment unaffordable. The main barriers cited were limited funding support (67%), high wage costs (65%) and the expense of workplace supervision (47%).

Employers also expressed frustration with current provision: 77% rated Scottish Government support as poor or inadequate, and 93% said increased funding is the single change required to make recruitment viable. A majority (62%) believe costs should be shared evenly between employers and government, reflecting the model that has historically sustained training in the sector.

Fiona Hodgson, Chief Executive of SNIPEF, said: "Plumbing and heating employers have a long history of supporting apprenticeships. Many of today's business owners came through the system themselves and know the value it brings to young people, to the profession and to Scotland's wider economy. But they are being asked to carry more and more of the burden while government support has not kept pace with the reality on the ground.

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"We cannot expect employers to absorb these pressures indefinitely. When the financial risk becomes too high, fewer businesses take on apprentices, and it is young people who lose out. Scotland cannot afford to close off one of the most effective routes into skilled work, good careers and genuine social mobility."

SNIPEF's report lands as the UK Government announces 50,000 new apprenticeship places in England, backed by a £725 million reform package that will remove the 5% co-investment cost for small and medium-sized employers training under-25 apprentices. These measures apply only in England, where technical apprenticeships already attract higher funding, while Scotland's college contribution rates have been frozen for almost a decade.

There is also a widening gap in how levy funds are used. Employers in England can access unused apprenticeship levy funds to help cover training costs, providing clear routes to support additional places. Scottish employers cannot draw on levy receipts in this way and lack transparency over how Scotland's levy income is allocated.

Commenting on the growing contrast in approach, Fiona Hodgson said: "The UK government has sent a clear signal that apprenticeships are a national priority, with reforms designed to help employers pay less towards training, carry less risk and access more visible support."

"In Scotland, employers already rely on government to fund college training, but they have no direct access to unused levy funds and no equivalent mechanisms to channel surplus contributions directly into front-line apprenticeship places."

"If Scotland does not match this clarity and ambition, there is a real risk that our businesses will feel less supported and that young people here will see fewer visible opportunities than their peers elsewhere in the UK."

Among other findings, more than 80% of employers reaffirm the four-year apprenticeship as the essential route into a safety-critical trade that produces competent, job-ready professionals. Two-thirds (67%) of member firms currently employ apprentices, showing continued investment despite financial strain, and both small and large employers report similar motivations and pressures, indicating system-wide challenges.

Employers are also open to enhanced entry routes that improve job readiness and spread early-stage costs, with 45% supporting a college-first or pre-apprenticeship pathway. In addition, 82% strongly favour 16–19-year-olds as the primary entry point, underscoring the profession's long-standing role in creating opportunities for school leavers and supporting social mobility.