Young People and Economic Growth

As an amendment to motion S4M-03295 in the name of Angela Constance (Young People and Economic Growth), insert at end “; is concerned that current efforts to tackle youth unemployment through the modern apprenticeship (MA) programme are falling short of the needs of 100,000 unemployed young people in Scotland, with 10,000 MAs undertaken in 2011-12 by those in jobs for six months or more; is further concerned by the spike in long-term youth unemployment, now four times greater than last year, and considers that Scotland needs a finalised youth employment strategy that not only gets young people to work, but equips them with the skills to compete in a global labour market."