SCDI Submits Evidence in Wither’s Review of Skills Landscape

The Policy Team have submitted a response to the Wither’s Review of the Skills Landscape. Thank you to those members who took the time to share their thoughts with Gareth and the team. We were also able to draw on our recent Upskilling Scotland and Blueprint reports. Our submission can be found below.

The key outcome we have requested is a more flexible, adaptable and resilient skills delivery landscape that is demand-led. Our submission also touched on the need to take a more holistic view of the skills system which appreciates that its elements play complementary roles, the importance of provision of meta skills, the need to simplify funding streams and to address levels of underfunding and to invest in employability support to reduce levels of inactivity. We also proposed ideas to help bring together funding streams in a Skills Wallet and to consider how the user journey (for learners and employers) could be simplified.

A summary of key outcomes is below:

• the need to take a more holistic view of the skills system, which appreciates that its elements play complementary roles
• the importance of the provision of meta skills
• the need to simplify funding streams and to address levels of underfunding and to invest in employability support to reduce levels of inactivity
• ideas to help bring together funding streams in a Skills Wallet and;
• consider how the user journey could be simplified