THE number of building apprentices registered in Scotland has surged by seven per cent to 1,553 in 2014.
The figure is 20 per cent higher than registered in 2012, when the number of apprentices slumped to a 15-year low of 1,299.
However apprentice numbers remain 42 per cent lower than their historic peak of more than 2,700 before the recession struck, according to the Scottish Building Apprenticeship and Training Council (SBATC).
The figures come as the latest official statistics show the Scottish construction industry employed 6000 fewer workers at the end of 2014 compared with a year before, taking the number directly employed by the sector to 177,000.
The employment fall was recorded in a year which saw output in the sector surge by 16 per cent, making it worth more than £16 billion to the Scottish economy.
Paul Mitchell, SBATC registrar and head of employment at the Scottish Building Federation, said the apprenticeship numbers are continuing to improve following six years of decline between 2007 and 2012, noting that is anticipated the trend will continue as the sector continues to recover.
But he warned apprenticeship and employment numbers are "still well below pre-recession levels."
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