A new poll has revealed most firms who offer Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) believe young people have had a positive impact on their business.
Nine out of 10 employers said Scottish-Government-backed MAs would form part of their strategy in the coming years, according to the survey by Skills Development Scotland (SDS).
SDS distributes government funding for the more than 80 different types of MA on offer and is a supporter of the Press and Journal’s Apprentice 100 campaign.
About three-quarters of employers who took part in the poll said MAs improved productivity, staff morale and the quality of service they offered.
More than 80% were satisfied with the relevance and quality of training their apprentices received.
About 2,500 businesses took part in the Modern Apprenticeship Employer Survey 2015, which was carried out earlier this year by independent researcher IFF.
The majority of respondents were businesses with fewer than 99 employees.
A quarter of MAs in Scotland came from the wholesale retail or motor trades, while construction accounted for 15%. Hotels and restaurants were the next biggest MA employers on 14%.
Employers were less satisfied with the opportunities available to influence decisions about the content of MA programmes. A fifth of employers were dissatisfied, while 49% were satisfied only.
Just over a third of employers said they had experienced at least one dropout at some point in time.
A fifth attributed the failure to personal reasons and 34% said the apprentice had a poor attitude.
Two-thirds of employers felt there was nothing they could have done to get the apprentice over the line.
Katie Hutton, an SDS deputy director, said: “The survey results are very encouraging and demonstrate the importance employers place in MAs to develop the skills of their workforce.
“Employers continue to invest in MAs, despite the economic challenges of recent years, and continue to see the benefits they bring to their business.”
Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham said the survey provided further evidence of the value MAs could bring to individual businesses and the wider economy.
Ms Cunningham added: “We are now delivering more than 25,000 MAs each year and will increase the numbers to 30,000 by 2020 and I hope that anyone considering taking on an MA will note these figures that speak volumes about our talented and enthusiastic young workforce.”
There are about 35,000 apprentices in training in Scotland right now, with more than 15,000 different employers and companies.
Last year, 40% of MAs were undertaken by females.