Chamber
Plenary, 08 Nov 2006
08 Nov 2006 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Transition from School to Work
I strongly disagree with that. It is correct that the lead minister on this issue is the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. The Minister for Education and Young People is also closely involved in the work and is focusing on it.
I am rapidly running out of time and I have some important information to give the chamber, so I will try to make progress.
We are supporting volunteering for young people through project Scotland and through work with partners such as Volunteer Development Scotland, the Prince's Trust and others. More than 800 volunteers are enjoying a vast range of placements of three months or longer to increase their confidence and improve their life skills.
The Executive has put in place internal working arrangements to bring a new and more focused approach to the NEET issue across all departments. Leadership is critical to the effective delivery of the NEET strategy—leadership from the Executive, from businesses and business leaders and from our schools.
As a mark of our determination and commitment to new leadership on this issue, we have already met the local authority chief executives in all seven of the NEET target areas. However, NEET is also a national priority, so we will meet the chief executives of all Scotland's local authorities. All local authority areas have received funding support for new strategies to tackle the problem.
Each of the seven priority areas has now delivered a local action plan that sets out how it will pursue the strategy to support the young people in question. Some crucial issues have already emerged, including the need to improve the confidence, health and well-being of young people, to explore to what extent schools could retain responsibility for young people after they have left them and to think harder about what is on offer for people who leave school at Christmas.
It is difficult to praise too highly the support that we are receiving as a result of the significant commitment of our business community. Increasingly, business leaders realise that if we are to achieve our true potential, all our young people have a role to play in developing Scotland's economy. No one realises that more than the Smith group, which is an influential group of leaders from the business and education communities that is led by Sir Robert Smith. The group is working closely with officials to ensure that our approach is the best that it can be.
The work of the Smith group goes far beyond the simple provision of advice. I am delighted to announce that, with its help, we have identified and recruited a number of secondees from the private and voluntary sectors to work with us to engage employers, to identify and create opportunities and to improve the employability of young people. Mark Adams from Microsoft, David Watt from KPMG and Ray Perman from the Smith group all join us, along with Euan Davidson, who was director of the Prince's Trust Scotland. They will prove to be invaluable to the delivery of the NEET strategy.
Scottish Business in the Community will join the coalition. The organisation will bring its experience of partnering employers and bodies that work with young people to the task of developing a bespoke approach to employer engagement in Dundee, which is one of the NEET target areas.
Businesses are already giving enormous support to our determined to succeed strategy, which offers enterprise education to all our young people. Even more employers from the private and public sectors are now coming forward in support of our renewed efforts. MITIE, which is a United Kingdom-wide facilities management company, is working with us to develop a vocational centre for young people in North Lanarkshire. Barr Ltd wants to get involved by opening doors to employment in the construction sector. Scottish Power is doing great work in Glasgow. Scottish and Southern Energy is working with voluntary sector agencies such as Barnado's, which runs the youthbuild project. We are talking to NHS Tayside about how we might develop its health care academies more widely.
I want to leave members in no doubt about our commitment to ensuring that progress is measurable and sustained. We want to focus on results and to be able to demonstrate what we have achieved.
I am rapidly running out of time and I have some important information to give the chamber, so I will try to make progress.
We are supporting volunteering for young people through project Scotland and through work with partners such as Volunteer Development Scotland, the Prince's Trust and others. More than 800 volunteers are enjoying a vast range of placements of three months or longer to increase their confidence and improve their life skills.
The Executive has put in place internal working arrangements to bring a new and more focused approach to the NEET issue across all departments. Leadership is critical to the effective delivery of the NEET strategy—leadership from the Executive, from businesses and business leaders and from our schools.
As a mark of our determination and commitment to new leadership on this issue, we have already met the local authority chief executives in all seven of the NEET target areas. However, NEET is also a national priority, so we will meet the chief executives of all Scotland's local authorities. All local authority areas have received funding support for new strategies to tackle the problem.
Each of the seven priority areas has now delivered a local action plan that sets out how it will pursue the strategy to support the young people in question. Some crucial issues have already emerged, including the need to improve the confidence, health and well-being of young people, to explore to what extent schools could retain responsibility for young people after they have left them and to think harder about what is on offer for people who leave school at Christmas.
It is difficult to praise too highly the support that we are receiving as a result of the significant commitment of our business community. Increasingly, business leaders realise that if we are to achieve our true potential, all our young people have a role to play in developing Scotland's economy. No one realises that more than the Smith group, which is an influential group of leaders from the business and education communities that is led by Sir Robert Smith. The group is working closely with officials to ensure that our approach is the best that it can be.
The work of the Smith group goes far beyond the simple provision of advice. I am delighted to announce that, with its help, we have identified and recruited a number of secondees from the private and voluntary sectors to work with us to engage employers, to identify and create opportunities and to improve the employability of young people. Mark Adams from Microsoft, David Watt from KPMG and Ray Perman from the Smith group all join us, along with Euan Davidson, who was director of the Prince's Trust Scotland. They will prove to be invaluable to the delivery of the NEET strategy.
Scottish Business in the Community will join the coalition. The organisation will bring its experience of partnering employers and bodies that work with young people to the task of developing a bespoke approach to employer engagement in Dundee, which is one of the NEET target areas.
Businesses are already giving enormous support to our determined to succeed strategy, which offers enterprise education to all our young people. Even more employers from the private and public sectors are now coming forward in support of our renewed efforts. MITIE, which is a United Kingdom-wide facilities management company, is working with us to develop a vocational centre for young people in North Lanarkshire. Barr Ltd wants to get involved by opening doors to employment in the construction sector. Scottish Power is doing great work in Glasgow. Scottish and Southern Energy is working with voluntary sector agencies such as Barnado's, which runs the youthbuild project. We are talking to NHS Tayside about how we might develop its health care academies more widely.
I want to leave members in no doubt about our commitment to ensuring that progress is measurable and sustained. We want to focus on results and to be able to demonstrate what we have achieved.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5098, in the name of Nicol Stephen, on supporting positive transitions from school to work.
The Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Nicol Stephen):
LD
Today's debate is on the important issue of moving young people from school into further education, employment or training.The transition works well for the ...
Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind):
Ind
A vocational element in education is important and every effort must be made to improve job and training opportunities for young people. However, does the mi...
Nicol Stephen:
LD
I agree strongly with that point. As well as the basic academic skills, there must be an emphasis in our schools on physical activity and sport, drama and mu...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
Given what the Deputy First Minister has said about schools, can he say whether he supports the First Minister's proposals for science academies?
Nicol Stephen:
LD
As I understand the situation, the proposals were made not by the First Minister but by the leader of the Labour Party. I look forward to seeing more of the ...
Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
I want to take the minister back a couple of paragraphs in his speech, to the point when he referred to local authorities having the lead role. If local auth...
Nicol Stephen:
LD
I could refer the member forward a few paragraphs in my speech, to the point when I will refer to leadership. It is important that the Executive, the private...
Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
I appreciate the comments that the minister has made so far, but does he accept that if education is so important in tackling the problem, the absence of the...
Nicol Stephen:
LD
I strongly disagree with that. It is correct that the lead minister on this issue is the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. The Minister for Educ...
John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP):
SSCUP
Will the minister give way?
Nicol Stephen:
LD
I am sorry, but I cannot because I am running out of time.The strategy commits us to setting national and local targets for tackling the problem by 2008. We ...
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
There is probably a lot of cross-party consensus on the issue, both on the importance of dealing with the problem and on the need to tackle it in a multifari...
The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Allan Wilson):
Lab
So why does the Scottish National Party propose to exacerbate the situation by spending £1.7 billion on writing off student debt?
Alex Neil:
SNP
Obviously, arithmetic was not Allan Wilson's best subject when he left school. The reason for having policies such as ours is to tackle another issue that hi...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I congratulate Alex Neil on what must be a record: he spoke for 10 minutes and 46 seconds but did not mention independence once. I hope that he will keep tha...
Jim Mather:
SNP
Does Murdo Fraser concede that it is possible that the skills gap is a function of people being attracted out of Scotland by better terms and conditions else...
Murdo Fraser:
Con
That is an interesting question. We still have a problem in that many high-level graduates are leaving Scotland to seek employment elsewhere; for example, Mr...
Fiona Hyslop:
SNP
Will Murdo Fraser give way?
Murdo Fraser:
Con
If Fiona Hyslop will forgive me, I will not give way at this point, as I need to make progress.Recently, there has been a large influx of workers from easter...
Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol):
Sol
Although I welcome the debate, I must express my concern about the way in which we tackle the problem. We build piecemeal projects that are never extended an...
Christine May (Central Fife) (Lab):
Lab
In time for reflection today, the Rev Malcolm Rooney spoke about arch enemies united, and I suspect that, regardless of our views on the solution, this subje...
Fiona Hyslop:
SNP
Will the member give way?
Christine May:
Lab
I am in my last minute, so I must continue.Murdo Fraser talked about skills academies and science academies. At Friday's business in the Parliament conferenc...
Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
I welcome the opportunity to take part in the debate and I applaud the work that has been done by the Smith group, which has been ably led by Sir Tom Hunter ...
Christine May:
Lab
Does Jim Mather agree that because the Executive is not a company it should not therefore be expected to behave as a company? However, if we extend his analo...
Jim Mather:
SNP
A country has a responsibility to develop the capability of its citizens. The Governments in London and Edinburgh control economic management, social securit...
Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
I come from a singular part of Scotland and I realise that there are many different areas in Scotland. Does Jim Mather accept that the solution to the proble...
Jim Mather:
SNP
I accept that many systems that have worked well in the central belt have not worked in the Highlands and I am not for one minute saying that we should not g...
Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con):
Con
We all agree that the fact that many of our young people have no opportunity to create a meaningful life for themselves is quite shameful. People generally a...