Billions of pounds of defence investment heading for Scotland will only translate into skilled jobs if colleges, employers and councils are handed the power to decide what training their local economies need, according to the Scottish Labour leader.
Michael Marra made the argument during a visit to Babcock’s Rosyth yard, where the Royal Navy’s five Type 31 frigates are being built, and said the centralised approach taken at Holyrood had failed. He called for regional leaders to be given greater powers to bring colleges, employers and training providers together so that people are equipped with the skills industry actually wants.
He said: “Scotland has world-class shipyards, outstanding engineering expertise and the talent to lead the next generation of British industry.
“Here at Rosyth, Babcock is building the next generation of Royal Navy frigates. Across Scotland, billions of pounds of defence investment offer a huge opportunity to create skilled jobs, strengthen our industrial base and open up new careers for young people.
“But investment alone is not enough. We must make sure people in our communities have the skills to take advantage of these opportunities.
“In this area Holyrood’s centralised approach to skills has failed. We need to hand over power to local people and communities.
“Local colleges, employers and councils can work together to train people for the jobs their local economies actually need.
“Decisions about the skills needed in our shipyards, our energy industry and our advanced manufacturing sector should be shaped by the people who understand those industries best.
“There are billions of pounds of investment on the table here. Scottish workers should be given the skills to grab it. Let’s turn that investment into opportunity: good jobs, stronger local economies and a new generation of skilled workers building Scotland’s future.”
The figures published alongside the visit show apprenticeship starts by people aged sixteen to twenty four in Scotland falling from 20,506 in 2015/16 to 13,891 in 2025/26, a drop of more than six thousand, or 32 per cent. Starts in the twenty to twenty four bracket are down 41 per cent, from 7,669 to 4,491, and the sixteen to nineteen bracket is down 27 per cent, from 12,837 to 9,400. Starts by people aged twenty five and over more than doubled over the same period, rising from 5,312 to 10,958. Scottish Labour took the numbers from Scottish Government modern apprenticeship supplementary tables for the fourth quarter of 2025/26, and said one in six young people in Scotland is not in education, training or employment.
The Type 31 programme supports around two and a half thousand skilled jobs across Scotland and the wider United Kingdom supply chain, including four hundred apprenticeships. A shortage of trained welders in Scotland has meant Babcock using workers from overseas, the party said.
Marra’s call follows the commitment of £6 billion to three new floating docks for the submarine service at His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, work that has been reserved for British shipyards, alongside wider investment in maritime industries. Babcock is building five Type 31 frigates at Rosyth under a contract worth around £1.25 billion, based on the Iver Huitfeldt design, with the first of class named HMS Venturer.
