“Team Scotland” needs to pull together to deliver 5,000 foundation apprenticeships, says education secretary John Swinney.

In a letter to college principals, he said that the ambition to create 5,000 FA opportunities was a “significant attempt to open up learning and training experiences for young people in the senior phase”.

He said that he welcomed the support of key national partners like education directors’ association ADES, local authorities’ umbrella body Cosla and the Scottish Funding Council, and that the success of the scheme would be “underpinned by commitment, responsiveness and agility across each part of the system”.

A Tes survey, carried out in late 2018, revealed that there had indeed been an increase in the number of FAs in almost all colleges - although that total remained well below the 5,000 target. The survey also showed that a significant number of young people were leaving the programme before the end of the two years.

Foundation apprenticeships are still fairly new, having been introduced in 2014-15 to provide work-based learning opportunities for Scottish secondary pupils in S4-5, with the idea that it would help them to successfully transition from education to the world of work. In 2016-17, there had been 351 FA places.

Skills Development Scotland said it was “on course to meet the Scottish government’s ambition”.

Diane Greenlees, SDS’ director of critical skills, said: “Colleges, schools, local authorities, employers and partners such as Education Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council are working with SDS to deliver these opportunities for young people across Scotland.

“The funding model for foundation apprenticeships is based on milestones, with the delivery partner providing evidence and information that these have been met. Through continuous improvement and feedback from colleges and learning providers, the contracting process for 2019-21 has been updated to provide a more streamlined funding model.”