Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 06 December 2012
06 Dec 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Careers Services
Miss Dugdale will be aware—it is no secret—that Skills Development Scotland has had a voluntary severance scheme, which ended in March 2012. However, there has actually been a marginal increase in front-line staff in schools. [Interruption.] Well, I think that the figure for full-time equivalent staff in schools has gone from 246 to 251, which I would have thought should be celebrated, given the tough times in which we live.
It is important that we provide a greater mix and a better balance of support that is firmly focused on individuals’ needs. The new approach is challenging and will require Skills Development Scotland, working with its partners, to build capacity across the learning and support system to ensure that, collectively, they provide the best possible careers services for young people. In doing so, Skills Development Scotland has not sought to reinvent the wheel; rather, it is building on the system and processes that are already in place, including those that several local authorities use to identify individual needs and to tailor and personalise careers services accordingly.
As I said, we need to recognise that the world of work has changed and is constantly evolving. Today, on average, a person will have about 10 different jobs during their lifetime, spanning different occupational sectors and geographical locations. As they go through that, they will need to adapt, move and keep pace with a changing industrial base. To operate successfully in an ever-evolving global economy, Scotland needs a responsive and skilled workforce. Our young people, who are our greatest asset and resource, understand that and are moving with the times. Our careers services need to support the change—standing still is not an option.
I accept that any organisational change is difficult and can be daunting for staff, which is why Skills Development Scotland is supporting its team of skilled careers professionals through the change. That includes unprecedented investment in a programme of professional development, new mobile technology to aid flexible working and, crucially, the creation of a Skills Development Scotland academy. Together, those measures will ensure that all our careers professionals remain at the forefront of international best practice.
The work does not stop there. Careers advice must be supported by a strong understanding of labour market needs. Skills Development Scotland is committed to providing up-to-the-minute information on where the jobs are and where they will be, and on the skills issues that Scottish companies face. That will help us to support individual ambition and drive economic growth. I am pleased to say that our approach for individuals has already been recognised as best practice by the United Kingdom Commission for Employment and Skills.
It is important that we provide a greater mix and a better balance of support that is firmly focused on individuals’ needs. The new approach is challenging and will require Skills Development Scotland, working with its partners, to build capacity across the learning and support system to ensure that, collectively, they provide the best possible careers services for young people. In doing so, Skills Development Scotland has not sought to reinvent the wheel; rather, it is building on the system and processes that are already in place, including those that several local authorities use to identify individual needs and to tailor and personalise careers services accordingly.
As I said, we need to recognise that the world of work has changed and is constantly evolving. Today, on average, a person will have about 10 different jobs during their lifetime, spanning different occupational sectors and geographical locations. As they go through that, they will need to adapt, move and keep pace with a changing industrial base. To operate successfully in an ever-evolving global economy, Scotland needs a responsive and skilled workforce. Our young people, who are our greatest asset and resource, understand that and are moving with the times. Our careers services need to support the change—standing still is not an option.
I accept that any organisational change is difficult and can be daunting for staff, which is why Skills Development Scotland is supporting its team of skilled careers professionals through the change. That includes unprecedented investment in a programme of professional development, new mobile technology to aid flexible working and, crucially, the creation of a Skills Development Scotland academy. Together, those measures will ensure that all our careers professionals remain at the forefront of international best practice.
The work does not stop there. Careers advice must be supported by a strong understanding of labour market needs. Skills Development Scotland is committed to providing up-to-the-minute information on where the jobs are and where they will be, and on the skills issues that Scottish companies face. That will help us to support individual ambition and drive economic growth. I am pleased to say that our approach for individuals has already been recognised as best practice by the United Kingdom Commission for Employment and Skills.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-05109, in the name of Angela Constance, on the modernisation of Scotland’s careers services.14:57
The Minister for Youth Employment (Angela Constance)
SNP
Having the right people with the right skills in the right jobs is central to growing Scotland’s economy, and an effective careers service is a crucial found...
Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I am interested in the minister’s comments on a “universal service for all young people”. I have in front of me “Putting Learners at the Centre—Delivering ou...
Angela Constance
SNP
Absolutely not. One of the strengths of the careers service as it stands but enhanced by modernisation is that it will be flexible and responsive. With the u...
Drew Smith (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
The move from face-to-face support to online support has its challenges, of course. Is the minister aware, for example, of the recent figures that I have, wh...
Angela Constance
SNP
Let us be clear that a person does not need to be registered to access the careers service, but of course we want young people to register, as we think that ...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
Will the minister take an intervention?
Angela Constance
SNP
Not just now—I have not finished dealing with Mr Smith’s point.With every month that goes by, registration increases by 10 to 15 per cent. I also take except...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Will the minister take an intervention?
Angela Constance
SNP
No, thank you.Those young people will receive career management skills in the classroom as part of the curriculum for excellence. That is our baseline univer...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
The minister says that she wants careers services to be at the heart of the system. How, then, can she explain a 20 per cent cut in front-line services? That...
Angela Constance
SNP
Miss Dugdale will be aware—it is no secret—that Skills Development Scotland has had a voluntary severance scheme, which ended in March 2012. However, there h...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I am not a member of the Education and Culture Committee and I am quite new to the issue, but I have read the briefing from Unison, which says that 93 per ce...
Angela Constance
SNP
I am aware of that survey only because it is quoted in the Unison briefing that has been distributed to members today. I have of course seen press comments a...
Kezia Dugdale
Lab
Will the minister give way?
Angela Constance
SNP
No. The survey had 350 staff—Interruption.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Ms Dugdale, sit down.
Angela Constance
SNP
I understand that 350 staff participated in the survey, out of a head count of 1,150 staff. The survey took place before the intensive face-to-face engagemen...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Can we stop having remarks from a sedentary position?
Angela Constance
SNP
The Government is firmly committed to high-quality universal careers services for people of all ages. We are committed to services that are independent, impa...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
My experience of being a recipient of careers guidance at school was not particularly good, but that probably says more about my attitude as a surly, spotty ...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Michael Russell)
SNP
No.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I think that in this case Mr Russell was the innocent party. Some of his colleagues were certainly intervening.
Neil Findlay
Lab
I humbly apologise. Someone must have the same dulcet tones as Mr Russell.Help for young people with careers development is important. Our young people need ...
Angela Constance
SNP
I am certainly aware of the research that those reputable researchers conducted in 2009, which was actually pre my world of work. Does Mr Findlay accept that...
Neil Findlay
Lab
I am just coming to that point. The academics suggest that web-based services, while potentially a useful tool, should not replace the current face-to-face c...
Angela Constance
SNP
Will Mr Findlay give way?
Neil Findlay
Lab
Certainly.
Angela Constance
SNP
As Mr Findlay is so well informed by his trade union and Skills Development Scotland sources, does he accept the commitment that has been given that, in the ...
Neil Findlay
Lab
Presiding Officer, I think that we have heard enough from the minister now.