The number of newly qualified paramedics joining the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has increased by 360 since 2023, the Health Secretary has announced.
Neil Gray said workforce levels were at a record high with 489 having joined since 2020.
The Scottish Government said the investment in paramedics is designed to give the service more "resilience", improve capacity and increase the number of patients treated in the community.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said workforce levels at the Scottish Ambulance Service were at a record high (Robert Perry/PA)
It said a three-year paramedic undergraduate degree programme that was launched at Glasgow Caledonian University in 2017 is now available at five universities across Scotland.
In 2020-21, 24 new paramedics joined the NHS, with that number rising each year to reach 181 in 2024-25.
The announcement comes a week after a report found that sickness absence rates in the NHS are at their highest level for 10 years.
Figures showed the sickness absence rate for NHS Scotland in the past year was 6.4% - up from 6.2% the year before.
The SAS had the highest sickness absence rate of any part of the health system, increasing by 0.8 percentage points to stand at 9.7%.
The number of paramedics currently working in Scotland is 2,156.6 whole-time equivalent posts.
Since 2020, we have supported the recruitment of additional staff, with further recruitment already under way this year -- bringing workforce levels to a record high
The Health Secretary said: "The Scottish Ambulance Service is an absolutely vital part of the health service, so the Scottish Government is working hard to provide it with the staff and resources it needs to continue delivering a high-quality emergency service to people across Scotland.
"Since 2020, we have supported the recruitment of additional staff, with further recruitment already under way this year -- bringing workforce levels to a record high.
"Ambulance staff have shown outstanding resilience in the face of sustained pressure, and I want to thank them for their continued dedication and hard work."
Michael Dickson, chief executive of the SAS, said: "We are delighted to welcome this number of newly qualified paramedics to SAS.
"This reflects their experience to date, and it also reinforces the important role paramedics can play in the future of NHS Scotland.
"Our continued ambition, supported by Scottish Government, is to grow and develop the SAS workforce, ensuring we continue to deliver the very best patient care by boosting capacity and increasing our resilience in communities across Scotland."