FOR hundreds of thousands of Scots, college is where they learn the skills to get on in life.

Colleges act as a ladder of opportunity; enabling people of all ages to build their own career and achieve their goals.

Simply put, thriving colleges are essential to Scotland’s continuing economic prosperity and, as far as the Scottish Conservatives are concerned, they deserve our full support.

However, the truth of the matter is that the last few years have been difficult for further education.

Not only has the sector been put through a full-scale reorganisation, but budgets have been slashed and student numbers cut.

The way Scotland’s colleges have been treated by the SNP is this government’s hidden shame.

There are now 140,000 fewer places than when the SNP came to power and 7,000 fewer staff.

This cannot continue.

It’s time for a different approach, one that takes the steps required to see further education thrive.

That’s why, in May, a vote for the Scottish Conservatives is a vote to reverse these damaging cuts.

Under our plans we would invest an additional £60 million into colleges; paid for through a graduate contribution – levied on university graduates, once they are earning a decent wage.

This last point is crucial.

We have no desire to hammer students, especially when employment rates for 16-24 year olds lag behind the population as a whole.

Instead, we are calling for a fair contribution that will help pay for a stronger college sector.

It’s a fair deal and one that promises to make our education system stronger.

For the truth of the matter is that while the SNP has built monuments to itself on so-called free education, it has presided over a decline in our college sector.

The net result: fewer opportunities for young people and a shallower talent pool for business.

Last year, the Federation of Small Businesses found that a third of its firms believe a lack of skills are a barrier to growth.

This gap cannot be allowed to persist.

We must start to value a vocational education as highly as we value an academic one.

The SNP can’t keep cutting college budgets in order to prop up a policy of free university tuition for Scotland’s middle class and I fail to see how having 140,000 fewer students in college is in anyway beneficial to the Scottish economy.

Our ambition should be for Scotland to become the skills capital of Europe, but if we are to achieve this aim then our colleges must be properly funded.

That’s what the Scottish Conservatives have pledged to do.

It’s time for Labour and the SNP to demonstrate that this is a vision they share.