Skills Recognition Scotland (SRS) pilot: learning insights

Insights on key learning / future work

Ownership

As this was a Scottish Government grant funded project, ownership of the process lies with Scottish Ministers. In the interviews, discussions around ownership of the model developed and its future application were seen to be important. One interviewee suggested that this could also be helpful in ensuring that stakeholders know who to engage with in the future.

Scale

Challenges around the scale of the work and the number of potential links to be made were flagged by some respondents. With a small core team with limited resources, it was suggested that this made it difficult to progress the work of the pilot on a wider scale as there was no resource to implement it. Suggestions on how this could have been done differently were provided by one interviewee who considered the potential of involving more agencies from the outset so that more than one organisation was providing the pilot. They also noted how any scaling up of the SRS in the future would be helped by more certainty on resources and funding.

Sustainability

It was reiterated that it would have been helpful if the long-term sustainability of the model had been considered at the start. One interviewee talked about how this had been unsettling and created uncertainty, whilst another noted that if sustainability is not considered, there is a danger of the process becoming a short-term initiative rather than an integral part of national and local skills systems.

Make the work national and embed into skills system

A recurring theme mentioned by interviewees was that the SRS process should be embedded into the national skills, education, and qualification systems. It was reported that there was no need to create a new system and that in mainstreaming the pilot, the role of the wider education and skills system/ using an existing agency(ies) should be considered. Going forward, some interviewees felt that the SRS process should be delivered by the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQFP) (one interviewee described it as the natural home for the work). As part of this, an interviewee also noted whether the future delivery of the service could be best achieved by others/another organisation working in partnership with SCQFP.

Other comments highlighted how future delivery should bring together local and national partners (including local authorities, local re-settlement and employability teams, and COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities), and that a partnership approach may be preferable as it was felt that there is no organisation which can deliver all that is required if the work is to be scaled up nationally. The role of job centres in offering a useful link into skills recognition was also discussed. One interviewee noted that whilst this is valuable, they were not in their view the place for the delivery of this type of work. Embedding in the skills system was also viewed as a way of providing a cost saving as the main cost would be the training of bench markers.

Use of available policy levers

When considering key learning, some interviewees reflected on their experiences from the pilot to explore the extent to which available policy levers had been used during the SRS project. Although policy levers were used, there was a perception that more could have been done to effect change. Policy levers used and the examples provided included:

• SRS was identified as an action specified in NSET's Project 13 of the Skilled Workforce, Programme 4 Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transformation and in the National Islands Plan
• Awareness and recognition of SRS was made with other cross-cutting policy areas including: Ukrainian Resettlement, Healthcare, Social Care, Labour Market Shortages, Equalities, Employability, Population, and Citizen's Rights
• Awareness and recognition of SRS was also highlighted to external stakeholders including: National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland (NMIS), Refugee Council, Scottish Enterprise, TalentScotland, Colleges Development Network, Scottish Funding Council, Universities Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), and the Industry Advisory Group for rest of the UK Talent Attraction
• Additionally, some interviewees felt that more could have been done to link SRS into narratives on the national outcomes

Flexible approach to delivery

It was suggested that flexibility in the methods of delivery of the SRS process could be helpful in engaging and supporting individuals (e.g., using a mix of in person and online methods where helpful).

It was also seen to be important that if people who migrate have skills already, they should not need to repeat the same level of qualification but should instead be able to demonstrate and evidence how their qualification is equivalent to that in the SCQF. One interviewee also reflected on the different needs of different migrant groups and the importance of ensuring that the SRS process can respond to these (e.g. some people who migrate may need to access work quickly and may be seeking fast results, others may not know where they wish to settle or may face uncertainty, and for some talking through their experience and skills may feel challenging which may require time and more support).

Importance of including lived experience

The importance of including and understanding lived and learned experience of people who migrate was highlighted by interviewees as being core to any future delivery and policy development on skills recognition in Scotland.

Communication

Interviewees reflected on the importance of clear, transparent, and frequent communication and how this could have strengthened the pilot further. This was also true around the importance of effective communication from the Scottish Government, including for example when there is a change in the government team.

Some interviewees also talked about the positive value of using communication to raise awareness of, and share information on skills recognition (for example, through different policy channels, and using existing formal and informal networks) and how this could draw on the expertise, enthusiasm, and networks of all those involved in the pilot.

Relationships, governance and reporting

Ensuring collaboration, trust and transparency and maintaining positive working relationships were seen by interviewees to be important lessons learned. It was discussed how these are important in preventing misunderstanding and mixed messages, and how they could help improve clarity around the delivery of, and engagement with the SRS process in the future.

Respondents also provided reflections on governance including:

• the importance of having more continuity in the Scottish Government's engagement with, and management of the work to ensure a clear Government driver and lead for the SRS process;
• the need to ensure that the purpose of the work is clear to all stakeholders;
• clearly defining who has responsibility for leading and delivering SRS and setting out clear roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders; and
• setting out clear and agreed expectations around partnership working for all organisations involved.

A common theme emerging from the interviews was around the limited availability of information on participants and employers including their experiences of the SRS process, the destinations of participants and the outcomes achieved from it for employers and participants. A key lesson highlighted by interviewees for future work in this area was the need to build in at the start robust and clear monitoring, reporting and evaluation as this could help shape delivery and identify any potential future improvements.

Learning from other countries

It was noted that learning lessons from other countries had been valuable in the development of the pilot and that this could continue to be useful to the SRS process in the future. Suggestions noted that learning from Canada and Ireland might be valuable though further detail on these was not provided. It was also suggested that it might be useful to bring in an understanding of how different employment sectors work in other countries.

Suggestions on what future success could look like

Some interviewees provided suggestions on what future success for skills recognition in Scotland could look like, and noted that this would be when:

• SRS is an official, embedded offer from Scotland.
• SRS is accepted as an inclusive recruitment tool.
• SRS is seen as common practice.
• Employers understand the value it brings, and it is a recognised and trusted process for them.
• People and employers are talking about skills recognition.
• Employers recruit people into job roles following the process.
• Participants are employed at the skill level equivalent to their qualifications and experience.
• There is clear shared messaging across stakeholders on skills recognition/ prior learning in Scotland.