Economy and Fair Work Committee 26 March 2025
Our second item of business is the first of a series of evidence sessions on skills delivery. The purpose of the sessions is to consider how the current skills system is or is not working and to identify the actions that are needed to support businesses and improve the skills supply chain, including green skills.
On behalf of the committee, a number of members recently visited Lothian Buses and Ashleigh Building in order to meet apprentices and staff. Many members will also have carried out individual constituency visits during apprenticeship week—in my case, I visited Dumfries and Galloway College. The visits gave us invaluable insight into the experience of skills delivery and a chance to meet some inspiring apprentices. I give a big thank you to Ashleigh Building, Lothian Buses and all the colleges and employers for welcoming us on our visits, and I thank Skills Development Scotland for organising visits during apprenticeship awareness week.
We have two evidence sessions this morning. First, I welcome James Withers, the author of the independent review of the skills delivery landscape, which was published in June 2023.
Time is tight today, so I ask members to keep their questions as concise as possible—I will fail miserably in that regard—and I ask the same of our witnesses with their answers.
I will kick off the questions. I mentioned apprentices in my opening comments. Before you reviewed the skills delivery landscape, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development carried out an extensive review of apprenticeships in Scotland. How did that review influence your thinking and the work that you carried out on apprenticeships?