Dr Peter Hughes, Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering said:

"Scottish Engineering is delighted to acknowledge all the hard work of the Skills Development Scotland team, encouraging thousands of our young people into Modern Apprenticeships.

"It can cost from £50k to £80k to put a youngster through an engineering apprenticeship and it is important that companies select the right candidates for this vital training.

"We are happy to celebrate the growth in Modern Apprenticeships, whether it is 15,000 or 25,000 per annum, and it is unfortunate that it has become a political football with both sides of the argument using figures to support their own particular claims.

"Let's just celebrate that more youngsters are coming into engineering at a stage when we need every one of them to be a success."