Aerospace firm Airbus is to create 200 new jobs after the firm received £1.4m in government funding, while software giant Microsoft has committed to taking on 2,016 apprentices in Scotland by 2016.

Airbus has received £1.4m from the government’s Regional Growth Fund. The next round of funding from the RGF is open for applications until 20 March.

The Microsoft announcement doubles the current annual apprentice intake in Scotland, with the firm partnering with the Scottish government, as well as training providers QA and YouTrain to offer the positions.

Following concerns expressed last week at the World Economic Forum around the digital skills gap, Microsoft UK managing director Michel Van der Bel says: “The digital technologies industry employs over 100,000 people in Scotland and is expanding fast. At Microsoft we want to help ensure there are skilled people coming into the workplace to secure the future for the sector.”

• Statistics released yesterday by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills showed that across England (Scotland, alongside Northern Ireland and Wales were not included), showed that the number of apprenticeship starts in the 2011/12 academic year was almost double that seen two years previously, although the number of ICT apprenticeships had declined by 5.1%.