Exclusive:Scotland's colleges need a 'revolution' in skills crisis, says minister
Tertiary education minister Alyn Smith has pulled no punches in outlining his position for colleges and apprenticeships
Scotland’s college sector will be “revolutionised” as young people are “not being served” by the current system, the tertiary education minister has said.
Speaking to The Scotsman, Alyn Smith said Scotland “does not do as well as it needs to” on skills training. And levelling a “challenge” at the education sector, he said workers of all ages will need to be reskilled and upskilled as the employment landscape changes.
He said: “I want to revolutionise Scotland's skills landscape and the funding model behind it, so that it meets the needs of learners, institutions and employers.
“We are breaking down barriers between school, college, university and work to make pathways clearer for young people.”
From April 2027, the Scottish Funding Council will have responsibility for all apprenticeships.
Mr Smith believes there must be more joint work between schools, colleges, and universities and a focus on lifelong learning.
He said the changes to apprenticeships will form a key part of improving opportunities for young people into training and employment post-school.
Earlier this week, in response to Scottish Labour’s Jenny Young who asked about data recording on positive destinations, the minister said current efforts are “not good enough”.
These are post-school destinations for young people and include a wide range of outcomes from university to volunteering positions.
Mr Smith told Holyrood there is a debate to be had about what constitutes a positive destination but cited figures that show Scotland has slightly higher employment rates and lower inactivity rates than the rest of the UK.
“But you know what? I don't care if we're up a bit or down a bit either,” he added.
“We don't do as well as we're needing to do.
“I'm not here to justify the status quo.
“I'm not here to justify why we're not doing as well as we could be doing, because I think too many young people are not being served as well as they need to be by the system that we are operating.”
The minister described Scottish further and higher education as a “cluttered landscape”, adding the current model is “expensive”.
Mr Smith has been clear that the college sector requires reform and has pointed to examples of colleges and universities working together, such as a recent partnership between New College Lanarkshire and University of the West of Scotland.
The two institutions recently launched Scotland’s first joint Undergraduate School.
At a time when governments north and south of the border are facing rising concerns about young people not in employment, training or education, Mr Smith said apprenticeships are key.
One of his focuses for his portfolio is to break down the siloed nature of senior phase school, college and university.
“Colleges need significant transformation to secure their future,” Mr Smith added.
The sector was given a 10 per cent uplift in core funding to £764 million in the last budget.
However, Colleges Scotland said this failed to restore the investment lost over previous years, with college funding having fallen by around 20 per cent in real terms since 2021/22.
The Scottish Government has plans to support at least 150,000 apprenticeships during the terms of this parliament.
It has also said it will develop an Apprenticeship Accelerator Grant to help employers, particularly small businesses, invest in the future workforce.
Mr Smith took questions earlier this week from MSPs, telling the Holyrood chamber: “If we all agree that there is something we need to do better, I am game for that, and I am game for change.
“I am not here to defend institutions, either academic or otherwise.
“I am not here to defend programs if they are not delivering as well as they could be.”
“I believe that citizen-centred skills learning is the key to getting people into work, and that's what we need to be focused on.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.