The SNP will today unveil details of a £40 million package designed to help young Scots find jobs.
Finance secretary John Swinney will pledge to create 50,000 training places if the party is re-elected to government.
Mr Swinney and skills minister Angela Constance will announce the Youth Employment Scotland package as the election campaign moves up a gear.
The fund will be used to maintain and safeguard the 25,000 modern apprentice places contained in last week’s budget for the following three years.
It will also provide £20 million for training for work places, aimed at creating 25,000 further places for people struggling to get into work. Finally, it will allocate £10 million to provide 50,000 college bursaries a year for four years.
The policy pledge indicates that plans for helping young people hit by the recession will be a key battleground at the Holyrood elections in May.
Mr Swinney, the MSP for North Tayside, said, “88,000 young people are struggling to find work as a result of the recession … The SNP in government has taken action by increasing apprenticeships and expanding college places to help our young people.
“At the coming election we will do more. Youth Employment Scotland will see a re-elected SNP government extend our policy of 25,000 apprenticeships a year from next year to the next four years.
“We will also expand training places that get young people into work with a £20 million investment to create 25,000 training for work places in each of the next four years.”
The finance secretary found funds to bring the number of modern apprenticeships up to 25,000 in a surprise addition to the budget passed at Holyrood last week.
Labour has also put jobs for young people at the heart of its election campaign.
Scottish leader Iain Gray told the party’s UK-wide youth conference in Glasgow on Saturday that the youth vote has been let down by both the SNP at Holyrood and the UK Government.
He pledged Labour will set up a national jobs fund to replace the Future Jobs Fund, scrapped by the Conservatives, to help 10,000 unemployed youngsters back into work.
He said, “Young people’s future will be a key part of Labour’s manifesto. We have announced plans for a Future Jobs Fund in Scotland to create 10,000 job placements for unemployed youngsters, and an apprenticeship guarantee for everyone who is qualified.
“Meanwhile the SNP Government over the last four years has cut funding to higher education and slashed student support.”