Future skills: action plan

Theme 3: Ensuring sustainability across the skills system

We must ensure that Scotland's skills system is efficient, able to deliver value for individuals, businesses and the economy, and can be sustained going forward.

The dynamism of Scotland's economy and the accelerating pace of change necessitates flexible funding mechanisms that are accessible and responsive to changing needs. We must ensure that individuals and employers of all sizes are supported.

Next steps

3.1) As part of the £1.3 billion funding made available to City and Growth Deals, we will build on work to develop and deliver skills investment plans in each region. We will align this investment with the Government's ambitions to deliver digitalisation and technological development, and increased in-work retraining and upskilling.

3.2) We will maximise the value of our combined investment in Scotland's people and skills base by accelerating the implementation of the five-stage skills alignment model agreed between Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council. This is being driven forward through collaborative engagement and governance under the newly-appointed Director of Skills Alignment.

3.3) As part of our Fair Work First approach we will continue to work to ensure that investment in skills and training is considered in the awarding of every type of grant, funding stream and business support budget available to us and every public sector contract awarded.

3.4) We will work with our agencies to utilise data sharing across the skills and enterprise systems, to improve how resources are allocated and to ensure that future investment and interventions are effective and best deliver for the people of Scotland.