Skills Recognition Scotland (SRS) pilot: learning insights

Insights on the participants engaging with the pilot

Interviewees were asked about their insights on the number and characteristics of participants in the pilot, including their demographics, country of origin and sector.

A recurring comment from many of the interviewees was that they did not know about the characteristics of the participants including the overall population profile of those engaging with the pilot and their demographics, and that there was no clear information on the onward destinations of those who had taken part in the pilot. It was felt that more information on participants and what they experienced through and after the process would have been helpful.

For interviewees who had insight on this, they drew it from their own personal observations of what they had seen, and the participants they had either engaged with or were aware of.

Overall, there was a perception that participants in the SRS pilot were highly skilled and impressive individuals, both in terms of their depth of experience and their qualifications, and that levels of education varied.

A recognition of the wider issues experienced by participants, beyond their qualifications/ skills such as their family circumstances or language barriers, were highlighted as important. One interviewee provided insight on ESOL college students, who were referred to the SRS pilot. They reported that the SRS process was helpful in allowing these students to 'fast-track' their transition into other courses.

When asked about the country of origin for SRS pilot participants, a range of countries were mentioned by interviewees including references to Libya, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Nigeria.

When discussing sectors/ type of industry, interviewees felt that engineering, health and social care including pharmacy were the most prominent sectors in the pilot.

In additon, insight on the number of participants (as of December 2022) was also provided by the project team. This showed that 132 participants had engaged with the SRS pilot of which 62 had completed, 33 were in progress, 10 had placed their engagement on hold and 27 had withdrawn. This insight also illustrated that participants completing the programme were in the Engineering, Health, IT, Social Care and Other sectors. In addition to the aforementioned sectors (with the exception of Social Care) those whose engagement with the pilot was in progress (as of December 2022) were also from the Construction, Education and Finance sectors.

Looking ahead, one interviewee talked about how new professional and skills areas were emerging amongst the SRS pilot participants they were aware of. These included management skills and project management expertise, and how some participants were registered professionals or were members of professional bodies.

On the destinations of participants, some said they were not sure about this or did not have any information, whilst others talked about participants who had successfully secured pharmacy related roles (e.g. as pharmacy assistants, dispensing roles) due to the requirement that to practice as a pharmacist in the UK people need to complete the one year Overseas Pharmacists' Assessment Programme (OSPAP) – this is currently offered in England but not in Scotland. Some interviewees talked about the value of a Scottish university offering this programme in the future. Others talked of participants securing posts in social care and one interviewee noted that whilst participants were securing work it was not always at the skill level of their expertise (e.g., an example was given of a nurse working as a care assistant). This interviewee highlighted that it is important to recognise that progressing into roles equivalent to a person's skill level can take time and can depend on a range of factors for participants including, for example, where people are living, their circumstances and family commitments. Other examples of destinations included references to a participant who had moved to England to do the OSPAP course, and another who had successfully secured a project management role in engineering.

For ESOL students and drawing on the insights available, it was noted that no employment had been secured and that work of this type needs to be sensitive to the different levels of English language skills that participants may have.

Follow-up work on the destination of participants was seen to be especially important by interviewees, and something that should be undertaken in future. For example, through follow-up work with employers, participants, advisers, and as part of any future monitoring and evaluation.