Plumbing new depths? Why ministers must heed the warnings of businesses
Trade body and Sir Tom Hunter lend voices to ever-louder refrain on Scottish Government’s handling of the economy
Today’s warning from a leading trade organisation should ring alarm bells at the Scottish Government on its handling of the nation’s economy.
The Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing and Heating Federation (SNIPEF) says eight years of frozen apprenticeship funding has led many sectors to “breaking point”.
Without government support, increasingly few firms are able to provide young people with the apprenticeships they need to follow their preferred careers.
Analysis by the federation has found just 22 per cent of businesses are likely to recruit a plumbing apprentice in the next six months
Young people who are being lost to trades such as plumbing might have gone on to be part of the next generation of small business owners, in turn helping out another cohort of school-leavers behind them.
‘Business growth has been starved’
SNIPEF chief executive Fiona Hodgson says: “Years of government inaction have created a situation where business growth has been starved.”
Meanwhile, one of Scotland’s most prominent business leaders has criticised ministers for presiding over a country in “managed decline”.
Sir Tom Hunter said: “Scotland has not been a pro-business friendly country for the past ten years.”
The entrepreneur called for more housebuilding and a tax regime that encourages rather than deters investment.
Sturgeon administration was ‘not business friendly’
These calls add to what is now a familiar complaint about the Scottish Government: it is simply not doing enough to help businesses.
READ MORE: Second independence referendum could happen if support becomes 'overwhelming', Michael Gove says
Sir Tom claims the outlook is improving under First Minister John Swinney and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, adding that under Nicola Sturgeon the government “was not business friendly”.
While welcome if true, evidence to back Sir Tom’s belief that prospects are improving is hard to discern - especially when the number of apprentices in trades such as plumbing is continuing to dwindle.
Without government support, there is a danger the steady stream of skilled workers Scotland needs in order to thrive will run dry.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.