National Transition Training Fund (NTTF): year 1 report

Background

The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic required governments across the world to implement measures to contain the spread of the virus. The pandemic has created a challenge for our economy on an unprecedented scale. In April 2020, unemployment in Scotland was anticipated to reach as high as 10%.^[2]

Throughout the pandemic, the Scottish Government has sought to alleviate the overall harm caused by the virus and is committed to delivering a socially just and equality-focused economic recovery. Skills initiatives have a key role to play in supporting Scotland's businesses and people to adapt to changes in the economy that are happening now and will take place over the next five to ten years. Some of these changes, such as the increased digitalisation of many sectors of the economy, have been accelerated by Covid-19.

The National Transition Training Fund (NTTF) was introduced in October 2020 in response to the projected rise of unemployment as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Year 1, up to £25 million of funding was made available through NTTF to support and provide training to individuals aged 25+ who had been made unemployed or were threatened with redundancy. Decisive action was taken to support employers and employees impacted by Covid-19 and work was undertaken with partners across the public, private and third sectors to maximise the Scottish Government's support for those facing redundancy to help them move quickly into new jobs.

In Year 1, NTTF was delivered across three strands, namely individual, sectoral and tertiary education provision. Strand 1 was introduced to provide support to up to 6,000 individuals who were recently unemployed or at risk of redundancy. £11 million of funding was made available for Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to deliver person-centred career advice and funded training across a breadth of sectors, although the continuation of the UK Government's Covid Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) meant that unemployment did not rise as expected so this level of funding was not required.

Strand 2 sought to attract individuals whose employment had been affected by Covid-19, and had been made unemployed or were at risk of redundancy, to equip them with the skills to enter into or remain in employment opportunities. Projects were in sectors where there were skills shortages or gaps; tangible job opportunities; or where there was projected to be higher demand as the nature of the labour market continued to evolve. Targeted sectors included tourism and hospitality, aerospace diversification, and 'green' construction.

Strand 3, administered by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), offered individuals access to a wide range of college or university training in sectors relevant to local and regional labour market needs. Colleges delivered training in sectors such as health, digital/cyber security and manufacturing. At university level, individuals have benefitted from training in a wide range of subject areas including decommissioning of offshore Installations, cybersecurity, climate change, sustainability and adaptation.

Unemployment did not reach the levels forecast at the beginning of the pandemic, largely due to the continuation of the UK Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The highest level of unemployment in Scotland was recorded in June 2020 at 4.9%.^[3] As such, up-take of the demand-led individual strand of support (Strand 1) was lower than anticipated. Action was taken quickly to shift support to sectors in crisis through the introduction of Strands 2 and 3, where demand for training opportunities was higher than anticipated.

Delivery of projects was impacted by the pandemic. Ongoing restrictions on travel and business closures, as well as physical distancing requirements, have affected institutions' and training providers' ability to safely deliver onsite training. Where training required face-to-face delivery, such as the Aircraft Decommissioning project, numbers have been lower.

Similarly, the delivery timescale initially agreed on presented a challenge for certain delivery bodies, as a result of the quickly changing circumstances of the pandemic. The development of some projects therefore took longer than initially anticipated, which consequently impacted on the amount of time available to deliver the project to the public. For example, the delivery of the Aircraft Electrification project was unable to be completed before July 2021 and was rescheduled to be delivered in the next academic year and will be reported on as a Year 2 project.

Building on the experience gained in Year 1, and with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, the Scottish Government announced in June 2021 that NTTF would continue for a further year (2021/22). In Year 2, up to £20 million of funding has been allocated across 32 projects to continue to support individuals and sectors affected by Covid-19 but also to address Brexit impacts and support future skills needs, including the transition to net zero.

More information on Year 2 of NTTF can be found at: My World of Work - National Transition Training Fund.