Appendix 2
Memoranda submitted by the Scottish Executive
1. We welcome the work that BAE and SEMTA
are doing to develop apprenticeships for adults. However, we are
concerned that apprentices aged 20 or older do not receive full
funding. We believe that it is vital for Scottish industry to
look at upskilling throughout the workforce, including mature
workers who were not able to access apprenticeships as school
leavers. We urge the Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise
to consider increasing funding for adult apprentices. (Paragraph
60)
The Scottish Government is determined that skills
will play a full role in increasing sustainable economic growth
for Scotland. As part of this we will ensure that our National
Training Programmes, including modern apprenticeships, continue
to meet the needs of Scotland's individuals and employers. In
March this year we announced a package of changes to our national
training programmes, particularly modern apprenticeships, to ensure
that public investment supports our Government's Economic Strategy.
The changes include refocusing of new public sector
contributions for Modern Apprenticeships 20+ to construction and
engineering related sectors where we can demonstrate that our
investment delivers results. Furthermore we have increased the
number of such Modern Apprenticeship opportunities by 500 to support
individuals in industries that we recognise face particular training
pressures. Adult apprenticeships are an important part of the
skills development framework. However, the Government's priority
will be in offering modern apprenticeship opportunities for 16-19
year olds to increase the proportion of positive and sustained
outcomes for Scotland's young people.
We are committed to ensuring the availability of
the right skills interventions for employers and individuals to
encourage skills utilisation and upskilling for the benefit of
the Scottish workforce. We would expect SEMTA to actively engage
with Skills Development Scotland's review of their delivery of
our National Training Programmes to ensure improved outcomes for
all.
We have tasked Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
with improving the quality of its delivery both in relation to
information, advice and guidance. The Scottish Government, in
partnership with SDS has now begun work on future business model
development which will include looking at Modern Apprenticeships.
We are encouraging all sectors and employers across Scotland to
feed into this process. We would urge the Ministry of Defence
to ensure that they engage SDS and ensure their views are known
by SDS.
2. The Scottish Executive must ensure that
industry continues to see Scotland as a good area for investment
due to the highly skilled workforce. Scottish Enterprise also
has a role to play in promoting Scotland to industry and working
to develop existing Scottish industry. We are concerned that Scottish
Enterprise has not been sufficiently pro-active to date and hope
that the re-launch of Scottish Enterprise on 1 April 2008 will
lead to greater success in promoting and supporting Scottish industry.
(Paragraph 69)
We reject this assertion. Scottish Enterprise is,
and will continue to be, pro-active in promoting Scotland to industry
and in working to develop existing Scottish industry. The Aerospace,
Defence & Marine industry group in Scottish Enterprise, formed
from the previous industry groups in this sector (Aerospace &
Defence and Shipbuilding & Marine) has been, and will continue
to be, extremely active in promoting Scottish opportunities and
the industry generally, both at home and overseas.
From an employment and skills perspective Scotland
is significantly more advanced in its coordinated approach and
actions than the rest of the UK. This is set to intensify with
the adoption of an even more industry-led and focused approach
and the creation of a revised and expanded Industry Advisory Group.
This will provide an important forum where industry and public
sector partners work together to agree a shared vision for sectoral
growth and where industry and public sector partners identify
and agree respective roles and priorities for action.
3. We urge all stakeholders, including the
Ministry of Defence, Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish
Enterprise and defence companies to work together to promote careers
in the defence sector and support the work of education providers
in widening access to skilled employment or further training.
We urge the Scottish Executive and local authorities to examine
the apparent biases within the education system in favour of the
academic stream and urge them to take appropriate action to boost
the standing of vocational options. (Paragraph 70)
Scottish Government agencies (formerly Scottish Enterprise,
and now a combination of Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development
Scotland and other public bodies) have been acknowledged by the
industry as being the most advanced in the UK in addressing the
skills needs of the Scottish shipbuilding industry (eg in the
CVF project). A comprehensive partnership approach has been, and
will continue to be, adopted. This will be supported by substantial
marketing funds, aimed at addressing all appropriate target audiences
from school pupils to the long term unemployed, all aimed at promoting
career opportunities in the shipbuilding industry. This approach
also is designed to use the current vibrancy of shipbuilding sector
to develop a pipeline of skilled personnel to serve the wider
engineering industry in the long term.
In the wider sense the Scottish Government is fully
committed to building a smarter Scotland by equipping people with
the skills, expertise and knowledge for success. This commitment
to skills is reflected in Curriculum for Excellence and in the
recently published curriculum guidance 'building the curriculum
3—A framework for learning and teaching'[1]
which clearly states that every child and young person is entitled
to develop, through the curriculum, skills for learning, skills
for life and skills for work. These skills include the development
of pre-vocational, enterprising and employability skills, personal
skills, high levels of cognitive skills and the opportunity to
put learning into a practical context. The Scottish Government
is also committed to developing curriculum guidance on how Curriculum
for Excellence can support young people in developing these skills.
This focus on skills reflects the Scottish Government's
commitment to all types of learning. Skills for Scotland—A
Lifelong Skills Strategy for Scotland[2]
includes commitments to:
- Parity of esteem between vocational
skills and qualifications and academic skills and qualifications;
- Address the issue of capacity which acts as a
barrier preventing young people from accessing vocational learning
opportunities; and
- Engender a change in attitude by undertaking
research into changing attitudes to vocational learning and challenging
those providing advice to young people.
This Government's commitment to providing more school
pupils with opportunities to experience vocational learning is
already reflected in the concordat between the Scottish Government
and COSLA[3].
One way in which young people can access vocational
learning is through a Skills for Work qualification. These qualifications
have been designed to provide school-age learners with opportunities
to develop employability and specific vocational skills through
practical experience. Following a 2 year pilot Skills for Work
qualifications are now available to all schools and colleges across
Scotland. An independent evaluation of Skills for Work[4]
published in February 2008 concluded that schools, colleges, providers
and young people were committed to the value of the qualifications
which they considered to have raised the status of vocational
learning. A range of Skills for Work qualifications are available,
including in Engineering Skills, with new qualifications in development.
In addition, a new HNC Shipbuilding award has been
developed, the only one of its type in the UK, to provide candidates
with appropriate technical and vocational skills to work within
the shipbuilding industry. This qualification not only helps support
the campaign to recruit into the shipbuilding industry by providing
an aspirational qualification, but it also sends out a clear signal
of Scotland's intent on remaining in, and indeed developing, its
increasingly high-technology shipbuilding industry. However, recognising
the need to ensure transferability of skills to the wider engineering
sector, the curriculum for the HNC in Shipbuilding comprises modules
and qualifications in a wide range of engineering skills that
will be equally of use in other engineering sectors. Successful
HNC candidates will therefore effectively have a series of appropriate
qualifications, endorsed by the Sector Skills Council (SEMTA).
The award has a solid foundation of theory and practice upon which
candidates can enhance their practical skills and gain an understanding
of Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding Principles.
The development of this award was enhanced by the
involvement of relevant employers in the shipbuilding industry.
These employers were involved in the development of the award
structure and content of the Units of the award to ensure that
their business requirements were being met.
4. With a limited amount of guaranteed work
after the CVF programme it is possible that the majority, or the
entirety, of the work for the Joint Venture could be carried out
in the VT yard in the south of England rather than Scotland. We
urge the Ministry of Defence, BAES and VT to ensure that any decisions
are communicated clearly and early to the workforce and consulted
on. The Scottish Executive and Skills Development Scotland must
ensure that education and training in Scotland continue to produce
a highly skilled, highly motivated workforce. (Paragraph 81)
Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is working in partnership
with the Scottish Enterprise Aerospace, Defence and Marine industry
team on its campaign to promote careers in the defence industry
and, in particular, in shipbuilding with strong links to the Carrier
programme. Work is already underway on a recruitment campaign
and a DVD-ROM marketing tool is already in use with the main shipbuilders,
colleges etc to assist in their recruitment techniques. Marketing
and PR agencies are now appointed and detailed creative and planning
work is now underway with the aim of a campaign launch in Autumn
2008. We intend to incorporate links to this campaign into our
proposed broader campaign 'the Path is Science and Engineering'
which will promote these career opportunities more widely.
SDS is also working with Scottish Enterprise on the
Scottish Marine Technologies Training Project (SMTTP) to co-ordinate
skills provision and ensures the training infrastructure to deliver
the volume and quality of skills required. This project is fully
supported by Babcock Marine and BVT Surface Fleet.
The SMTTP will maximise the benefits of a skills
supply pipeline that is designed to meet employers' needs and
maximise local employment impacts. The pipeline will encompass
training at all levels from pre-vocational through to graduate
design and generic programme management skills, as highlighted
by MoD, DTI, SEMTA and industry. Actions include:-
- developing a skills programme
that corresponds to the modern industry's needs by including both
traditional craft and critical transferable, generic skills, eg
supply chain management, project management, negotiating, influencing,
team building, and top leadership skills.
- work with a range of organisations, including
SDS (Careers Scotland), Local Authorities, Jobcentre Plus and
Further Education who have the expertise and resources in school
vocational work, pre-vocational training, community engagement,
and training delivery.
Specifically SDS has contracted for 1652 new Modern
Apprentice places in engineering in 2008-09 with anticipated support
for Babcock of 50 new Modern Apprentice places and support for
BVT Surface Fleet of 90 new Modern Apprentice places. These 140
MA places directly support the CVF project delivery. For information,
there were 1292 MA Engineering starts in 2007-08.
Following the anticipated reduction in peak shipbuilding
employment after the carrier programme, SMTTP will also support
the re-skilling of the shipbuilding workforce to help meet the
needs of related sectors such as Naval Ship Refit, Renewable Energy,
Marine Engineering and Construction.
Additionally SDS is developing a "Key Labour
Market Sectors Approach", the aim of which is to provide
a continuing supply of people taking up a career in the areas
of Science, Engineering, Technology and Maths.
All of this is aimed at broadening the skills base
in advanced engineering in Scotland—both in shipbuilding
and in the wider engineering sector.
5. The defence industry is vital for Scotland.
As well as contributing to the economy the defence industry also
provides skilled employment opportunities. The defence industry,
particularly the ship building industry, is in a more stable position
than it has been for some time, largely due to the CVF programme.
Scottish engineering and manufacturing is supported by a highly
skilled workforce. However, once the carriers have been constructed,
there are a number of challenges that the industry will have to
prepare for. Those challenges include the potential impact of
possible constitutional change with consequential loss of automatic
access to the UK home market, limited success to date in the export
market and the formation of a Joint Venture which could lead to
more work being carried out in England. To prepare for these challenges,
all stakeholders including the Ministry of Defence, the Scottish
Executive, Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, the
Scotland Office and industry, need to work effectively together
to ensure that Scotland's engineering and manufacturing base continues
to be world class. (Paragraphs 87 and 88)
As Scotland is the natural home of warship building,
we welcome the opportunities the manufacture of the carriers will
provide. The performance of the Scottish yards and the Scottish
workforce is second to none—on reputation, deliverability,
quality of output and the skills of the workforce and in all circumstances
will secure orders on the basis of their formidable skills, and
a record of delivery which is second to none.
Right now, Scotland's defence and shipbuilding sector
is trailing that of comparable, independent countries. Indeed,
if our shipbuilding industry had the same share of manufacturing
turnover and employment as the average across Denmark, Finland,
Norway and Sweden, turnover would be £400 million higher
than the current level and employment over 2,000 higher.
Since Labour came to power in 1997 we have lost almost
5,000 defence jobs in Scotland.
Scottish Government provides support to Scottish
engineering and manufacturing companies with a specific focus
on adding value and improving Scotland's economic growth rate.
We encourage Scottish businesses to create and retain high value
jobs in globally competitive manufacturing companies and we encourage
closer networking and communication among engineering firms in
Scotland.
To do this, the Scottish Government provides a wide
range of support to manufacturing companies delivered through
Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Local
Authorities, Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Development
International. This includes innovation and investment grants,
help with trade overseas, practical support for companies to improve
productivity and efficiency and business and product planning
services. We have a comprehensive range of support specifically
aimed at encouraging innovation—including innovation in
engineering and manufacturing—from its earliest stages through
to commercial outcome. The Scottish Government is also committed
to supporting manufacturers in Scotland to improving their productivity
and ensuring that they can compete globally. Our Scottish Manufacturing
Advisory Service (SMAS) is delivered by Scottish Enterprise. Currently
151 manufacturing improvement projects have been initiated, 81
of which have been completed and have achieved approx £17m
GVA.
August 2008
1 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/226155/0061245.pdf
Back
2
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/197204/0052752.pdf Back
3
http://www.cosla.gov.uk/attachments/aboutcosla/concordatnov07.pdf
Back
4
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/213863/0056853.pdf Back
| 
