Our main themed focus in this edition of SPN is education, skills, training and employment.
What emerges when you examine these four factors is the complex inter-relationships at play here. Think about the news that has emerged within Scotland over the past few weeks.
We have better employment and unemployment figures – in this most recent period – than in the UK as a whole and yet the reasons for these different movements of employment data continue to be something of a mystery. Various labour market experts and economists have written about it and yet any ideas remain very tentative.
On the education front, there have been some mixed messages about HE in particular. Three major pieces of work, by Professors Riddell and Raffe at Edinburgh University, and Lucy Hunter a former government official involved in student finance have all published critiques of Scottish Government student finance policy. Again it’s complex, but the current message seems to be that changes to the fee regime – both under the Lib Lab Coalition and the two SNP governments have not dramatically improved the intake into HE of students from lower income backgrounds.
At the same time the widening access initiative launched by the Government and the Scottish Funding Council has been welcomed – and a leading London based think-tank, the IPPR, has called for a similar scheme for English universities. (See Policy Shorts elsewhere in this edition)
In Further Education the consequences of regionalisation are still working through the current system, with some colleges merged; others well on the way and some still struggling with the implications. Alison Payne, of Reform Scotland discusses here their recent thoughts on the organisation and governance of our FE colleges.
Here Dave Watson of Unison, which represents a large number of the staff in FE colleges providing support to the academic staff expresses their concern about both staff worries and the overall provision of FE across the whole country but - as he argues - essentially provided where people live and work.
One of the key factors we need to get right in Scotland is transport and access to markets - to communities and to people. The balance the government has to get right is that of investment between roads and rail. Our current major rail investment programmes appear – despite claims otherwise to be focused on the towns and cities of the Central Belt. Some of these have been very successful achievements, with impressive procurement gains, such as in Paisley. Others seem to offer limited, even marginal advantages such as the large – though perhaps smaller than first promised – investment in the main Edinburgh - Glasgow line. Although it represents a really bold move, the Borders rail line is at best, still to prove whether its impact benefits development in the Borders or commuter employment in Edinburgh. Outside of the Central Belt the large scale road commitments are in the ascendancy.
If the Holyrood government argues that London swamps development and employment elsewhere in the British mainland, we need to be careful that we don’t find the Central Belt sucking in development and employment from elsewhere in Scotland.
The factors that contribute to employment are many and complex. It’s at the heart of the Scottish Government's policy commitments.
By Professor Richard Kerley
Issue 6
TRAINING, SKILLS, EDUCATION AND THE ECONOMY
Transforming Customer Service Delivery Across Scotland's Public Sector
Customer service delivery in the public sector is growing in importance as budgets come under increasing challenge. Professionalising skills development in this area has been growing in recent years.
- Christie Commission Principles In The Employability And Skills Sector
- Training and education for public service workers mustn't be forgotten
- A New Deal For Scotland's Colleges?
- What do our human rights and business have in common? A missed opportunity, that's what.
- Imagining the future of higher education
- Buying into a brighter future: Why public procurement is a career of choice for professionals, graduates and school leavers
- Chill winds blow on Further Education
OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE
- Editorial
- Scotland's Digital Connectivity
- In My View...
- Dundee: From Waterfront redevelopment to city economy regeneration
- Scottish Universities And Reputation Management
- Energy Master Planning And Sustainability
- This land is our land ? Or is it?
- How is Scotland Weathering the Storm? Can other small countries learn from the 'Scottish model'?
- Social Business Can Transform Public Services
- Whistleblowing - prevention better than the cure
- Lessons From The 3rd Annual School Business Managers Conference
- The Opportunity to eradicate child poverty in Scotland
- Positive About Planning
- Policy Shorts
- Rail freight, the economy, the environment and the Highlands
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