Meeting of the Parliament 08 October 2025
I will come on to the specifics in due course, but, in response to Ms Smith, and in general terms, I emphasise that our colleges, employers, universities and trading providers are key to helping people to gain the skills that they need. Collectively, we members of the Scottish Government greatly value their contribution, especially in delivering a record number of apprenticeships and in helping so many school leavers to move on to positive destinations.
Our amendment sets out our record on young people and others achieving positive destinations, as well as the significant investment that has been made this financial year. It also states that we note the terms of the Audit Scotland report. We know that there is more work to do. We are committed to a new national approach to skills planning, which will be led by the Scottish Government. Its aim will be to better align post-school education and training pathways with Scotland’s long-term skills needs, especially in key sectors of our economy that support the move to net zero.
We are working closely with the Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland to take that forward. Together, we have agreed a model for skills planning that we will shape through engagement with colleges, universities, employers and regional partners. That collaborative approach means that we can move quickly and make real progress. We are also working with regional economic partnerships, which are really important, to build on what is already working well and to strengthen regional skills planning.
Our goal is to empower regions to deliver on their economic and social ambitions while contributing to national priorities. We want the post-school system to be more responsive to regional needs, and we are building on the strong foundations that have been set through the Scottish Funding Council’s regional tertiary pathfinders programme, along with other local initiatives.
However, there are limits to what we can do on our own. We do not operate in a bubble. The impact of Brexit and the United Kingdom Government’s migration system has undoubtedly added to labour market pressures—that is a fact—and we continue to make the case for a more flexible and responsive approach to migration that reflects Scotland’s specific needs.