Scottish Chamber of Commerce Network submission for Skills and Business Alignment Needs December 2021
Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network
Introduction
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network welcome the work of the Education, Children and Young People Committee into examining the link between skills development in Scotland and how this aligns with business needs.
People are at the heart of our businesses and ensuring that we up-skill and re-skills Scotland’s workforce to meet the needs of business is crucial in driving forward Scotland’s economic growth and recovery from the twin challenges of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Businesses need access to the best talent to drive business growth and SCC would welcome the development of a clear plan from the Scottish Government to upskill and reskill our workforce at all levels.
Productivity growth is the sustainable way to secure effective growth in quality jobs and increase our output. Whilst successive governments have struggled to make a meaningful improvement, our view is that the single most important contributing factor is education, training and upskilling of the Scottish workforce at all levels.
Expanding the scope of education beyond our youngest is vital if we are to navigate business recovery and business growth, which will necessitate the reskilling of huge sectors of our workforce.
The pandemic has brought to the fore the skills challenges that existed pre-pandemic as well as bringing to light new challenges that business and government will have to address jointly.
There were many challenges facing Scotland’s economy even before the pandemic including skills gaps; issues around the availability of talent; barriers to equality of opportunity and career progression; a need for greater investment in training and development; and difficulties in overcoming Scotland’s ageing workforce and ability to manage inward migration.
Now as a result of the pandemic, these issues have been exacerbated as well as introducing new challenges to manage including new patterns of working; industry and skills transitions; skills and talent gaps to support recovery; and tailored reskilling and upskilling interventions.
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network is instrumental in delivering the Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) programme, which is the Scottish Government’s Youth Employment strategy to better prepare young people for the world of work.
SCC supports this employer-led strategy which connects employers directly with Scotland’s education system.
Additionally, since the start of the pandemic recovery, the SCC Network has also supported the UK Government’s Kickstart Scheme which provides funding to create new jobs for 16- to 24- year-olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment, which we also believe is a key intervention from government that connects employers with the young workforce.
This response sets out SCC’s views on what steps the Scottish Government could take to enhance the alignment between skills and employer need in Scotland and invites the Committee to consider our key recommendations for improvement.
SCC remain available to discuss this response with the Committee in more detail to help inform members on the views of Scottish business.
Key recommendations:
1. Provide a decade long guarantee of support and investment into the Developing the Young Workforce initiative to bolster the link between education and business.
2. Protect and grow Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeship routes in Scotland as part of a rebalanced model that aligns investment with industry need.
3. Make further and higher education more responsive to the needs of industry by expanding Graduate Apprenticeships and developing shorter degree programmes.
4. Drive up investment in Scotland’s digital skills which should be treated equitably alongside investment in digital infrastructure to keep Scotland internationally competitive in new and emerging digital sectors.
5. Support a training revolution with targeted employment incentive grants and support for specific businesses to retain, retrain and reskill employees at all ages and levels.
SCC Response to the Committee Call for Views:
Scotland’s Workforce and Skills
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce believe that there are a number of immediate actions that the Scottish Government could take to support Scotland’s employers and enhance the skills of the Scottish workforce, whilst also protecting jobs and securing a just transition for employees moving sectors.
Scottish Jobs Protection and Transition Scheme
SCC believe that the Scottish Government should make available tailored financial support for the hardest-hit sectors such as tourism, hospitality, retail and the supply chain, which are still struggling to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuation of economic deterrents such as international travel restrictions and domestic vaccine certification.
In addition to this there should be the introduction of an “on-standby” Scottish Jobs Protection and Transition Scheme should it be required in future lockdowns to support both businesses and employees.
Training Revolution
The Scottish Government should seek to introduce a retraining scheme to support individuals who have left employment for a range of reasons over the past 20 months to enter back into the workplace, with targeted employment incentive grants and support for specific businesses to retain, retrain and reskill employees.
A workforce-wide funded ‘Skills and Training Passport’ could also be introduced to empower workers to reskill or upskill at any stage of their career.
Scotland’s Virtual Learning Centre
Many businesses and employees find navigating how to access training and development opportunities challenging.
Therefore, the introduction of a single-entry point for access to virtual training and development qualifications, available for all workers which could provide opportunities to upskill, retrain and adapt to technological advancements in the workplace would boost Scotland’s skills alignment with business need.
Developing the Young Workforce
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy; asks business to be more involved in informing, inspiring and hiring youth talent.
Educators and businesses working together as co-investors to create a skilled workforce for Scotland’s future is vital to ensuring the availability of skills in Scotland that match business need.
The Scottish Government should continue to build on DYW to create better and more engagement between business and education. Scotland can do more to develop skills and to ensure business better understands what our educators are doing; and what business can do to support them.
SCC want to see the Scottish Government maintain a long-term, 10-year commitment to ‘DYW’, which has successfully improved the relationship between young people and employers.
The North-East and Moray DYW Positive Futures Survey, published on the 23rd November 2021, provides a snapshot of the continued need for the scheme which found that 43% of the young people surveyed said they felt they faced barriers to entering the world of work, with only one in five saying they didn’t face any.
Nearly a quarter (24%) of the young people said that confidence and anxiety-related concerns held them back, while more than 11% cited discrimination as a factor.
Nearly two-thirds of employers are satisfied with how they connect with young people and three- quarters believe they are inspiring young people to gain skills for the world of work.
SCC firmly believe that DYW works to connect employers with education.
It bridges that gap to provide young people with more opportunities to develop their employability skills and help them find fulfilling careers and must continue to play a vital part in Scotland’s skills development mix.
Further and Higher Education that is Responsive to Industry
There are several routes to make Scotland’s skills base better suited to the needs of business and this cuts across the tertiary, further and higher education sectors.
The SCC network believes that expanding degree-level qualifications to be developed in a timescale responsive to industry for example, expanding Graduate Apprenticeships and developing shorter degree programmes, could provide Scotland with a significant skill boost in a shorter time frame and better link studies with the needs of industry.
Apprenticeships
Scotland’s businesses value apprenticeships and want to see them protected as a vital route into work for young people that enables businesses to provide on the job training and develop a workforce with skills aligned as closely as possible to business needs.
SCC believe that the Scottish Government should seek to grow Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships in Scotland as part of a rebalanced model that aligns investment with industry need.
Flexible Workforce Development Fund
The Scottish Government should continue to build on the Flexible Workforce Development Fund concept, bolstering the funding element for independent training providers to support firms who need specialist training.
Workplace Transition Fund
To help employers adapt to changing working models, a Workplace Transition Fund should be made available to support employees adapt to emerging work patterns through training packages, financial support for employers with transition costs and health and wellbeing support for employees, this should seek to support:
- Expanding and funding private sector B2B led peer-to-peer support networks to focus on business growth, business resilience and mental health and wellbeing support for SME business owners.
- Development of a “New Work Model” Strategy which maximises economic opportunities for cities and towns recovery, facilitates the shift to different modes of working and supports employee wellbeing.
- Increases the capacity of private sector led initiatives which focus on providing a skilled talent pipeline and increases the skills for managers and business owners and leaders, such as CGI’s Digital BootCamps Triples the funding of DigitalBoost to increase the digital capacity, expertise and knowledge within SMEs and bridge the digital skills divide by developing new digital skills programmes for workers of all ages. Digital skills should be treated equitably alongside investment in digital infrastructure.
- Funding a B2B-led long-term Business Recovery and Growth Unit to provide locally- driven, direct, on-the-ground, practical support to SMEs through the Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network’s B2B infrastructure.
Tertiary Education and Funding of Skills interventions
A new approach to funding is required for colleges and universities, reflecting the global economic environment, as well as looking at appropriate structural changes across institutions where it is right to do so on deliverables, targets and outcomes.
The tertiary education sector is best placed to support the rapid reskilling and upskilling of the workforce including school leavers and those seeking work.
The approach should be laser focused on meeting the immediate requirements of the post- pandemic economy with a focus on digital training and skills.
About SCC: The Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network sits at the heart of local business communities, representing over 12,000 businesses in Scotland. With 30 local Chambers rooted in communities across Scotland, the Chamber Network provides practical advice and support to Scottish companies through unrivalled expert leadership, business-to-business connections, mentoring/coaching, business support services and international trade support.