Chamber and committees

This is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland and they have been asked to respond directly.

This is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland and they have been asked to respond directly.

This is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland and they have been asked to respond directly.

Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are responsible for developing Modern Apprenticeship (MA) Frameworks and the underpinning National Occupational Standards (NOS) to meet the needs of their respective industries. MA Frameworks are approved for delivery in Scotland by the independent Modern Apprenticeship Group (MAG) which encourages SSCs to present robust frameworks, for which there is evidence of demand and which respond to the needs of their sectors.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is responsible for contracting for the delivery of Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland. SDS works closely with SSCs to articulate demand from employers and industry experts through Skills Investment Plans (SIPs). SIPs provide information on the skills demands from growth sectors as set out in the Government Economic Strategy. This includes demand for and uptake of MAs, and as a result SIPs are one of the pieces of evidence used to inform the SDS contracting strategy for MAs. MA Frameworks which support growth sectors are prioritised within the SDS contracting strategy.

The Minister for Youth Employment has had meetings with Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) as follows:

8 March 2012 – Improve (Jack Matthews, Kelvin Thomson), People 1^st (Brian Wisdom, David Allen) and SEMTA (Brian Humphrey) (also attending was Simon Perryman of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills) - to discuss how the work being taken forward by these SSCs could contribute to the Scottish Government’s youth employment agenda.

19 April 2012 – Construction Skills (Graeme Ogilvie) – to discuss the possibility of joint-investment in the construction sector.

14 June 2012 – Asset Skills (Tim Pogson) (also attending was Najimee Parveen of Path Scotland) – to discuss a proposal to address under-representation of BME individuals in National Training Programmes.

16 August 2012 – SEMTA (Brian Humphrey, James Lynch, Stewart McKinley) – at the inaugural meeting of the Forum for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Skills (FAMES), also attended by representatives of some 16 companies form the advanced manufacturing and engineering sector, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland – to discuss proposals for the Forum and skills issues in the sector.

13 December 2012 – Creative and Cultural Skills (Ronnie Gurr and Norah Campbell) – to discuss apprenticeships in their sector. (The Minister also launched CC Skills’ National Skills Academy on 1 November 2012).

In addition, the following SSCs were amongst the organisations represented at the National Economic Forum meeting which the Minister attended on 1 February 2012 to discuss the Scottish Government’s strategic priorities on youth employment:

Construction Skills (Graeme Ogilvie);

Energy and Utility Skills (Jim Brown); and

Improve (Kelvin Thomson).

The Social Enterprise and Third Sector Challenge Fund was delivered via 24 organisations and offered participants a range of opportunities varying from short term training to longer term supported employment.

The final date for participant entry to the programme was agreed as 31 March 2013 and to that point SDS has a confirmed number of participants as 1,619.

Scottish Government agreed an extension of up to 8 weeks, beyond 31 March, in which milestones and outcomes could be claimed. As a result final figures for the number of positive outcomes will not be available until, at least, the beginning of June 2013.

Due to the original Scottish Government requirement, to pay the entire fund to Providers by 31 March 2013, payments were available to claim four weeks after the young person was employed. Figures for sustainment at three, six and 12 months will, therefore, be unavailable.

However, the Social Enterprise and Third Sector Challenge Fund has been subject to external evaluation by TERU (the Training and Employment Research Unit at Glasgow University) and this report will be complete by early June, once final figures have been confirmed.

The inaugural meeting of the reconstituted Scottish Employability Forum (SEF) took place on 31 January 2013. The SEF will meet bi-annually and the next meeting will take place on 5 September 2013.

The list of forum members and record of the discussion that took place, during the first meeting, are available on the Employability in Scotland website.

http://www.employabilityinscotland.com/employability/scottish-employability-forum

Opportunities for All is our explicit commitment to offer a place in learning or training to every 16-19 year old in Scotland who is not currently in employment, education or training.

NHS health boards and special health boards are public authorities listed in Schedule 19 to the Equality Act 2010 (“the Act"). As such they are subject to the general public sector equality duty in section 149(1) of the Act and the specific duties laid down in the Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012.

GP practices are not listed in Schedule 19 to the Act but, insofar as they exercise public functions, they must under section 149(2) of the Act have due regard to the matters in section 149(1) in carrying out those functions.

The Scottish Government is continuing to fund the college sector in a way which maintains the number of full-time equivalent student places. It is for each college itself to decide which courses to offer within the overall level of activity it agrees with the Scottish Funding Council. However we have made clear in guidance to the council that we expect colleges to continue to provide a balanced portfolio of courses which responds strategically to the different groups of learners in their region.

It has been absolutely necessary to ask colleges to prioritise young people to protect them from the long-term damage of unemployment. However, to ensure continued emphasis on other learners, we have made clear our expectation that colleges should use a substantial proportion of the recently-announced additional £61 million for the sector on courses for older learners (including part-time provision).

In the case of students with learning disabilities, I have asked the Funding Council to work with ENABLE, the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disabilities and other partners to identify the best means of securing improvements in the number completing courses. I have further asked that the Funding Council develop guidance for the sector on improving the employability of this group of students. We recognise that some non-recognised qualifications have value as an access route or to meet the needs of people with disabilities, and we have asked the Funding Council to protect such provision.