Scottish Government's policy priorities

We received a briefing from the Scottish Government on its emerging policy priorities for skills. Since the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has published a pre-legislative discussion paper outlining the Government's ambitions for post-16 education. Many of the priorities and themes in the paper have implications for the work of the Committee. We will consider over the months ahead how best we can contribute to supporting the Scottish Government develop post-16 learning provision that:

• most effectively supports jobs and growth;
• improves and enhances the life chances of all people in Scotland; and
• is sustainable, affordable and good value.

The pre-legislative discussion papers Putting learners at the centre: delivering our ambitions for post-16 education is available from the Scottish Government website here.

SFC's Learning to Work (LTW) strategy and investment programme was developed to support the employability of graduates from Scotland's colleges and higher education institutions. SFC refreshed the strategy in 2009 and embarked on a new phase of investment, which it called Learning to Work 2 (LTW2), this has included a new phase of investment to create new work placement opportunities for students in colleges and universities.

The Committee discussed the final evaluation of Learning to Work investment in HEIs and progress with LTW2 projects. The enhancements to teaching, learning, and student support developed through the LTW programme have enabled a shift change in how HEIs address graduate employability in Scotland.

The committee's discussion paper can be found here.

With over 74,000 employees and an income of £10 billion, the food and drink sector has been recognised as one of the key industry sectors critical to Scotland's future economic success.

The Committee received an update on progress with developing a skills investment plan for the sector in Scotland facilitated by SDS. Committee member Sylvia Halkerston, Chair of the Scotland Food and Drink Skills Academy and a Director of Improve (the sector skills council for the food and drink manufacturing industry) briefed the Committee on progress with developing skills in the sector, and challenges and opportunities faced by the industry going forward.

The Committee particularly welcomed the significant progress made by the sector on workforce development, despite the challenging economic environment, and the positive impact the Skills Academy has had in stimulating demand for skills to enhance business development. Further progress with finalising the investment plan will be discussed at a future meeting of the Committee.

The Committee's briefing paper can be found here.

The Committee was briefed on progress with a joint SFC/SDS exercise to bring together data on the provision funded by each of the two bodies. This combined data set will inform prioritisation of funding and provision across both organisations. It will also provide useful data across a range of the Committee's work including priority industries, workforce development, regional coherence, and access to the labour market for priority groups.

This valuable joint initiative will also help support and inform the work of other public agencies and the Scottish Government. We were particularly pleased to note that this work had already been successfully used as evidence in support of an inward investment bid led by Scottish Enterprise, and served as a timely example of public agencies collaborating closely in support of economic development.

The update paper can be viewed here.

The Committee considered the early outcomes from a review of the SFC funded skills utilisation 'action research' projects. The 12 projects funded under the programme have explored different elements of skills utilisation and offered pilot interventions ranging from training and development for individual employees, to organisational change in the workplace and knowledge transfer activity.

The interim evaluation concluded that there is real potential for elements of the programme to contribue to a broader approach to skills and innovation policy in Scotland, with some projects offering models for fresh and innovative approaches to skills utilisation. The Committee agreed that SFC should explore the case for limited investment to develep some projects further.

The Committee's paper can be viewed here.

The Committee discussed a draft of its annual report to the boards of SDS and SFC, which reported on how the Committee has supported the respective boards achieve their strategic aims and objectives, and included an outline of the committee's forward agenda.

Members particularly noted that the effectiveness of the Committee had been enhanced over the past year from the closer collaboration between the SDS and SFC executives. The Committee's workplan for the coming year will focus on four priority areas of advice to the SDS /SFC boards:

• workforce development and industry sectors work;
• pattern of SDS, college and university provision;
• learner journeys and progression; and
• employability of graduates from universities and colleges.

The final report was submitted to the SDS board at its meeting in August, and will be available on the SFC website following its submission to the SFC board in November.