Skills delivery landscape: call for evidence

Context for this call for evidence

In September 2022, the Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, Youth Employment and Training set out to parliament that he would be initiating an independent review of the skills delivery landscape in Scotland as part of work to ensure that the skills system is fit for purpose for delivering Scotland’s national outcomes and meeting future economic challenges including the transition to net zero.

James Withers has been appointed as Advisor to the Review. The Terms of Reference set out his remit and the Review’s scope and purpose to explore how the public body and advisory landscape can be adapted to drive forward the Scottish Government’s outcomes and ambitions for skills. Specifically, it will look at the skills functions of Scotland’s public bodies and make recommendations on their roles and responsibilities within the future delivery landscape.

Purpose of this call for evidence

The purpose of this call for evidence is to gather evidence from all interested parties to inform recommendations in relation to the future of the skills delivery public body and advisory landscape, including the future remit and status of Skills Development Scotland.

The call for evidence asks wider questions relating to Scotland’s skills system which will help to inform the Independent Advisor’s recommendations as well as providing an opportunity for specific feedback in relation to the functional areas identified in the Terms of Reference as being specific focus for the Review.

Beyond this call for evidence, there are additional engagement opportunities that will allow you to contribute to all these areas in more detail. These are detailed on the Skills Delivery Review part of the Scottish Government website.

The results of this process will be used to inform the work of the Independent Advisor to the Scottish Government which will conclude with an independent report by James Withers to the Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, Youth Employment and Training by Spring 2023.

This call for evidence is divided into the following sections:

1. Skills Delivery Landscape

2. Apprenticeships

3. National Occupational Standards

4. Upskilling and Retraining

5. Sector and regional skills planning

6. Careers and young people

7. Employer engagement

We are interested in your comments and ideas so there is space left after each section for you to provide these. If you need more space, please use the box at the end of the questionnaire, indicating to which of the seven sections your comments refer.