The number of apprentices taken on by the Scottish construction industry in 2009 looks set to plummet by more than a third, according to new figures published today by the Scottish Building Federation.

Across the industry as a whole, this could mean almost 1,350 fewer apprentices are recruited this year compared to 2008.

The figures form part of the latest Scottish Construction Monitor, a quarterly survey of the Scottish Building Federation’s membership of more than 700 construction companies throughout Scotland.

The survey shows confidence within the construction sector remains very weak, with a negative rating of -58 and 82% of those responding indicating they are either slightly less confident or much less confident about the prospects facing their business over the next 12 months, compared to the previous 12 months.

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Michael Levack, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Federation, said: "Despite the commitments made in the 2009 Scottish Budget in favour of investment in construction and apprenticeships, these figures suggest that, unless much more is done to restore business confidence in the industry, creating additional apprenticeship places in construction will remain no more than an aspiration.

"My fear is that the true impact of this fall in apprenticeship places will only be felt when the recovery comes and we discover that, because of the dramatic drop in workload, employers have been unable to sustain apprenticeship training. Ultimately, this will result in skill shortages and a reduction in the capacity of the Scottish construction sector."

Michael Levack then called for further Government action to boost business confidence in the Scottish construction sector.

He said the commitment to creating new apprenticeships is welcome however the industry needs is an injection of Government cash to protect existing apprenticeship places.

"Despite a number of major announcements over recent weeks, Federation members are telling me that they have yet to see any meaningful impact on the ground. Firms are crying out for new projects to bolster their business – and until these start to materialise, as these figures show, many are being forced to scale back their plans to recruit new apprentices and are struggling to sustain the employment of their current apprentices," he said.

(GK/JM)