Meeting of the Parliament 04 June 2019
I will come to that point later. Today we are announcing a comprehensive set of new proposals that will address the skills gap that the Scottish National Party has created.
It is not just young people who need a transformation in the level of support for training. We need a comprehensive new system to prepare our workforce for rapid changes in technology and for workers who will have several jobs in their career. To achieve that, we will introduce a new lifelong skills guarantee. The proposal is that Government, helped by business, would guarantee that anyone who wants to retrain or upskill during their career would get the chance to do so. It would see the introduction of a new scheme in which firms and workers can invest in a personal learning account, match funded by Government for the lowest paid and lowest skilled, to be used for lifelong training and upskilling.
The new policy of a lifelong skills guarantee would include the expansion of the lifelong apprenticeship, aimed specifically at workers over the age of 25, to ensure that apprenticeships are available to all workers who want one.
The increasing emphasis on vocational training and lifelong learning would be supported through a series of additional measures, the first of which would be the expansion of vocational-focused schools for talented pupils aged between 14 and 16 who are disengaged from traditional education. We want to see the creation of a vocational-focused school in every Scottish city, modelled on Newlands Junior College and aimed at talented pupils who do not benefit from a mainstream education.
We would introduce second-chance centres in areas of need across Scotland to give people another chance to get the core skills that they really need. Second-chance centres, which would offer basic qualifications in core subjects, could be set up within colleges or jobcentres or as standalone organisations, depending on the most appropriate approach for the local area.
The measures that I have outlined today would represent a transformation in training and lifelong learning opportunities across Scotland. Those who are most likely to benefit are the lowest paid and lowest skilled, and those who are most at risk from the changing nature of work.
After 12 years in government, the SNP has failed to deliver sustainable economic growth and we have a skills system that is not fit for purpose. It is time for a new approach. Today we have announced ambitious proposals that would transform the skills system in Scotland and boost economic growth. In the months to come, the Scottish Conservatives will announce further proposals to grow Scotland’s economy and deliver on Scotland’s true economic potential.
I move,
That the Parliament notes with concern that economic growth and long-term growth rates for Scotland continue to trail behind the rest of the UK; recognises that the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy has failed to deliver sustainable growth, meet productivity targets or create a high-wage economy; acknowledges the need to address the skills gap in the economy through a comprehensive new approach to skills and training, and calls on the Scottish Government to use its existing powers to introduce a new policy framework to address the structural challenges facing the Scottish economy.
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