From heat pumps to heritage crafts, apprentices are shaping Scotland - Lorna Slater

They suit people who want to get stuck in, who like to understand how things work and who want a future that feels solid rather than distant.

Edinburgh College and others across the country already run strong apprenticeship programmes in engineering, social care, construction, digital technology and the growing green energy sector. Yet employers keep telling us the same thing, they cannot find enough people with the right skills. This is not a failure of the young, it is a sign that we need to invest properly in the places that train them.

There is also a quieter part of the apprenticeship world that deserves a brighter spotlight, the traditional skills that shaped Scotland long before we talked about net zero or digital futures.

Our tartan and tweed makers, our stone masons, thatchers, dry stone wallers and metalworkers carry crafts that hold history in their hands. These skills are part of our cultural identity and a growing part of our sustainable economy.

Restoring old buildings is far greener than replacing them, using local textiles is better for the planet than fast fashion and repairing stone or slate keeps both heritage and craftsmanship alive. Colleges and training centres that protect these skills are doing vital national work and they deserve the same support and respect as any modern tech programme.

At present these traditional skills are at risk of dying out, because of a lack of apprenticeships available to pass them on. However, with significant changes coming to the learn-in-work model in Scotland in the wake of the Withers review, we have the opportunity to reconsider how we include these key cultural skills in new apprenticeship frameworks.

Scotland will soon need thousands of new workers to electrify transport, install heat pumps, retrofit draughty homes and build a circular economy. None of that happens without apprentices who are ready to start on day one.

If we want a country where every young person can see a place for themselves, we should lift apprenticeships up to where they belong; as a first choice that opens doors and will help us build a better future.