Review of Vocational Education Launched

The Scottish Government is launching a review of vocational education and its effectiveness in addressing Scotland's skills shortages. The review will also look at training provision being better aligned to the Government Economic Strategy and Curriculum for Excellence and will be completed by the end of the current financial year. It will be chaired by Skills Development Scotland's current chair Willy Roe, who will be replaced at SDS by John McLelland from the Scottish Funding Council for the duration.

The review will focus on the area of post 16 vocational education and training which supports people into work and helps sustain them in productive employment. It will primarily focus on:

• The needs of young people seeking to make a seamless transition into work
• Adults who are unemployed and are seeking to move back into work
• Those in employment who are seeking to upskill and employers of all types seeking to improve efficiency and productivity through their skills investment
• Preparing for and exploiting opportunities presented by the move to a low carbon economy

The aim is to evaluate how vocational training meets the needs of employers and whether improvements can be made.  This may lead to an overhaul of current vocational qualifications to offer better value, and help accelerate progress towards government targets.

Willy Roe said:

"This review comes at a time of genuine opportunity for Scotland at the same time as we face clear economic and fiscal challenges. ... Greater exposure to global influences is widening Scotland's horizons and raising ambition, particularly among our young people. If we are going to take full advantage of these changes we must move decisively to develop a highly competitive and innovative workforce."