Intelligence-led skills system

Our Goal

An agile, responsive, resilient, and inclusive skills ecosystem consistently delivers the skills the Scottish economy needs.

We will work with our partners across Scotland to make sure the learning you do prepares you for rewarding work.

Scotland’s employers experience fewer skills gaps and skills shortages
Reskilling and upskilling opportunities are more flexible and accessible in Scotland
Partners and stakeholders increasingly use career and labour market intelligence to inform decisions on learning provision and other service delivery
The ambition of the Shared Outcomes Framework between SDS and the SFC is delivered.

Work to ensure that Scottish Apprenticeships remain agile, flexible and fit for the future

Working closely with the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB), ensure all apprenticeships are based on new, employer-owned industry standards and reflect the evolving reality of work
Utilising employer-led occupational standards and new technology, introduce flexibility within work-based learning which enables modular micro-learning for all, and allows the aggregation of more diverse learning towards certification
Work with the SFC to maintain the integrity of the Scottish Apprenticeship family, ensuring the alignment of standards and frameworks so people can make frictionless transitions across Foundation, Modern and Graduate apprenticeships.

Collaborate extensively at a national, regional, and sectoral level to shape intelligence-led skills investment and delivery

Collaborate with Scottish Government, the enterprise and skills agencies and others, to deliver the skills ambitions of NSET
With the SFC, deliver against the Shared Outcomes Framework, supporting enhanced alignment of provision with economic and business need, and resulting in a more balanced portfolio of provision across an agile, coherent, and responsive system
Continue to work closely with Regional Economic Partnerships, enterprise agencies, and regional education and skills partners, providing evidence, insight, and analysis, and helping to ensure a coordinated regional response to skills challenges and opportunities
Engage with sector and industry representatives, including Industry Leadership Groups, to develop and implement collaborative responses to identified and emerging skills issues.

Together with customers and partners, support the design and delivery of approaches to meeting current and future skills demand

Work with Scottish Government to develop a new Lifetime Skills Offer
Building on international best practice, develop and pilot an approach to continuous professional development which enables experienced individuals to reach deeper levels of learning, and builds employer capacity for supporting future generations of apprentices
Develop Skills and Technology Route-maps to support people and their employers to invest in skills and training throughout their working lives, with a focus on sustainability and the use of digital technology
Work with strategic partners to develop improved mechanisms for tracking and recording individual learning.

Collaborate across the Careers ecosystem to deliver more consistency in Scotland’s career services, and improve customer outcomes

Form a ‘Careers Coalition’ comprising key partners and stakeholders from the education agencies, third sector organisations, and across higher, further, and secondary education.
Work with coalition members to implement the recommendations of the Career Review to ensure greater accountability for, and coherence and integration of, careers services across Scotland
Monitor and evaluate the strategic impact and lifelong outcomes for career services delivered in Scotland to sustain future orientation amongst the coalition and create strategies for further change.