Enterprise and Skills Review: report on Phase 2

1. Introduction

In May 2016, the First Minister announced an end-to-end review to ensure that all public agencies are delivering the joined-up support that our young people, universities, colleges, training providers, businesses and the workforce need.

The Review has been led by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, and was supported by a Ministerial Review Group, including members of the Council of Economic Advisers. The Review's aims as stated in its original remit are:

• To make a step-change in enterprise and skills support to help progress towards our ambition of Scotland ranking among the top quartile of OECD countries in terms of productivity, equality, wellbeing and sustainability.
• To be driven by evidence, to listen to the views of users, and put forward proposals that respond to their needs.
• To ensure a simpler and more coherent enterprise and skills support system.

A call for evidence attracted 329 submissions from a range of organisations and individuals, culminating in the report on Phase 1 of the Review which was published on 25 October.

The report contained 10 recommendations which focused on ensuring coherence and a simpler, more flexible and cost-effective system of national and local support.

Whilst focusing on Scottish Enterprise ( SE), Highlands and Islands Enterprise ( HIE), Skills Development Scotland ( SDS), and the Scottish Funding Council ( SFC), the Review recognises that the work of many other agencies is crucial to Scotland's economic performance, from health and education to transport and infrastructure. This is also recognised in Scotland's Economic Strategy.

Phase 2 commenced in November 2016, with nine projects being established in order to take forward the Phase 1 recommendations. On-going engagement with key stakeholders - particularly from the business community - has been a central element to the process across all projects, and will remain so as the programme continues through its implementation phase.

Further detail on this process is illustrated throughout this high-level report. It explains the vision, purpose and benefits of the programme and individual projects, the outcomes and progress achieved during Phase 2. In doing so, we acknowledge that different workstreams are at different stages of development with some already delivering on short-term outputs and others pursuing longer-term programmes of transformational delivery.

The report is supported by a suite of detailed workstream reports and the formal Scottish Government response to Professor Lorne Crerar's report 'Proposals on Governance and the Creation of a Strategic Board.'