Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 16 June 2021
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome you to your new role in Parliament. I hope that all my years of being very nice to you have put me in good stead for this debate and beyond.
I am delighted to open this debate in my new role as Scotland’s Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work. I take the liberty of using this opportunity to thank the people of Moray for placing their trust in me again to serve them for the next five years.
Today, I am asking Parliament to recognise and respond to many of the skills issues that are being experienced by key sectors of our economy, given the complex and unpredictable dynamics in our economy that have arisen due to the pandemic and which have unfortunately been compounded by a hard Brexit and the cessation of free movement. As we emerge from Covid-19, workers and businesses across Scotland face new and growing uncertainties. For many employers, something approaching a perfect storm is here. They face increased demands, but with a tightening labour market and a real prospect of staff shortages. For others, Brexit has introduced all kinds of onerous barriers to trade, weakening their ability to be fully productive as we emerge from the pandemic or even to export their products to Europe.
The United Kingdom Government was warned by the Scottish Government and many others to avoid going through with a hard Brexit in the middle of a pandemic, but those voices were ignored and we are now paying the price. Businesses and our economy have been severely impacted by a pandemic that no one wanted or expected and as a result of necessary measures to save people’s lives. A hard Brexit was also not wanted but was, by choice, foisted on Scotland, despite damaging consequences being predicted and expected.
I am sure that members across the chamber will have read recent reports concerning the many employers that are currently struggling to recruit workers. Both Covid and Brexit are impacting on the labour market and the economy. For businesses such as Crieff Hydro, the end of free movement has now, as the owner, Stephen Leckie, put it, “come home to roost”. The imminent summer holiday period is a crucial time of the year for the hospitality sector, but businesses such as his have confirmed that they still have a large number of vital roles to be filled. Their difficulties are not unique but are characteristic of trends across the hospitality and tourism sector, among others.
In recognition of the challenges facing the hospitality and tourism sector, I am pleased to confirm that we will give additional support this financial year for upskilling and retraining in the sector via the national transition training fund. Furthermore, the Scottish Government is working with partners, including UKHospitality Scotland and Skills Development Scotland, to promote the range of careers in the sector. I will shortly launch a marketing campaign to help to reduce the number of vacancies in the hospitality and tourism sector and to promote tourism as a career of choice among our target audience of 18 to 30-year-olds in Scotland.