Developing Skills for Scotland’s Digital Economy
The next item of business is a debate on S4M-09575, in the name of Angela Constance, on developing skills for Scotland’s digital economy. I invite members who wish to speak to press their request-to-speak button. I note that some members who are down to speak in this follow-on debate are not present.
15:28
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to open this debate on developing skills for Scotland’s digital economy. The debate follows the recent publication of the information and communication technology and digital technologies skills investment plan by Skills Development Scotland and the First Minister’s announcement that the Scottish Government is investing an additional £6.6 million in promoting digital skills.
Last month, the internet celebrated its 25th birthday. In that time, it has transformed how we live, do business and interact with one another, and it will continue to do so in ways that few of us can even imagine. That is why the debate is so important. As opportunities increase, we need to ensure that our young people have the chance to develop the skills that will, I hope, allow them not only to succeed in a digital world but to shape that digital world.
Scotland is well placed to take advantage of the boom in new technology around the world. We have a successful digital and ICT sector that employs around 73,000 people, contributes £3 billion gross value added to our economy, and offers average full-time earnings that are 50 per cent higher than the Scottish average.
It is also a sector that is increasingly integrated across the economy as a whole. Successful organisations in every sector are striving to adapt to the digital world and, as they do so, we see a growing demand for people with skills to lead digital transformation. The skills investment plan estimates that 11,000 new entrants per year will be required to meet replacement and growth demand. Those challenges are not unique to Scotland: it is estimated that there is currently a shortage of up to 900,000 ICT and digital technology professionals throughout Europe. However, even though it is an international problem, we need to take action that will make a difference in Scotland. We have every opportunity to do that by focusing on the potential of Scotland’s workforce and by ensuring that young people and women are an increasing part of the solution and are attracted to careers in the vibrant and growing digital sector.
The skills investment plan identifies that, despite the growing demand for skills in the area, the figures on occupational segregation and young people employed in the sector are a concern. It is not only me that is worried; the sector is concerned, too. Only 14 per cent of the workforce is aged 16 to 24 and only 17 per cent of it is female. We need to get the message over to young men and women about the fabulous career opportunities in the sector.
As Minister for Youth Employment, I also have a key interest in issues that relate to women in the labour market, so it is inevitable that I regard this as a tremendous opportunity for young people and women. It is a potential win-win if we work effectively and in partnership with the industry. That is why I was determined that, in the same week as the skills investment plan was published, we would have a national campaign to make young people your business in digital technologies.
I take the minister’s point about young people getting the message that there are opportunities in the sector for young women as well as young men, but does she agree with me that there is a capacity issue in our schools and colleges? According to the Scottish Government’s figures, the number of teachers with computing studies as their primary subject has fallen by nearly 14 per cent over the past few years. We have issues with the availability of teachers who are qualified to teach it.
Absolutely. The purpose of the skills investment plan is to be responsive to the needs of industry. That includes every aspect of our education system—primary, secondary, further and higher education.
The point that Jenny Marra makes about computing science teachers is accurate. There has been a nearly 14 per cent fall in the number of teachers with computing science as their main subject in our secondary schools. That is one of the reasons why Michael Russell and Alasdair Allan have made a commitment to at least double the number of student computing science teachers we recruit to teacher training colleges. There is a workforce plan on the number of teachers we then take forward, particularly into secondary schools. On that point, we can most certainly agree with the member.
What struck me during the make young people your business in digital technologies week was the way in which some of our most successful companies are embracing a twin-track approach to recruitment by, first, seeking to attract top graduates from Scotland’s universities and, secondly, recognising the value of modern apprenticeships and taking positive action to develop them as a route to meeting their skills needs. In 2012-13, Skills Development Scotland supported 468 starts for information technology modern apprenticeships. That is up from 344 in the previous year, and I am delighted that employers are engaging with that valuable vocational route.
Sir Ian Wood’s commission on developing Scotland’s young workforce has identified the point that the European economies with strong vocational pathways are also strongly performing economies. The Parliament has already agreed with the ambitions of the commission’s interim report and I am pleased to say that, among other things, the commission is specifically examining the opportunities in the ICT industry as it moves towards concluding its final report in May. We also had a successful Wood commission summit on Monday, and I was pleased that Ms Scanlon was in attendance throughout that event. I hope that the work of the Wood commission will provide a further boost to our plans to provide education and training pathways that are specifically designed for the digital age.
We are taking action across the education system to develop digital skills. In our schools, the development of digital skills is embedded in the curriculum for excellence. The curriculum for excellence supports ICT skills across all subjects and provides specialised learning in computing science, including the opportunity to study for the new national 4s and 5s, which contain a strong element of software design and development—the very areas in which skills are so highly valued by employers.
Our colleges are working more closely than ever with employers to ensure that students have the skills that our key sectors need. In that regard, the ICT sector is well served by our colleges, which deliver a broad range of courses for the industry—courses in digital media computing, software development and computer animation are just a few of the many that are available.
Are schools and colleges, which have an extremely important role to play in computing science, programming and software design, also ensuring that young people have an understanding of the different business models that exist, including those of free and open source software, as they have much more creative potential that could be unleashed and are fundamentally more democratic than the proprietary business models that are commonplace?
Yes, I think that that is the case. I would be happy for Dr Allan to write to the member in more detail on the issue. Mr Harvie makes some very interesting points. It certainly sounds as if the sort of education that he suggests is in keeping with a broad general education that makes people aware of their rights and responsibilities as citizens.
In our university sector, the Scottish informatics and computer science alliance brings together researchers from all Scotland’s universities to create one of the largest research clusters in informatics and computing science in the world. Our universities also offer a number of diverse degree courses to undergraduates on various strands of ICT and digital technologies provision.
I am very conscious that, despite all that activity, I have attended a number of events with the industry in recent months at which I have been told that we need more graduates in computing science. Too few students are taking computing science courses. Between 2012 and 2013, there was an 11 per cent increase in applications for places on full-time undergraduate computing science courses, but there was only a 3 per cent increase in acceptances. It is clearly unacceptable that, of those people who are accepted on to full-time undergraduate computing science courses, just one in eight is a woman.
We are therefore working closely with our universities and the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to explore what more can be done in those areas. That includes a commitment to provide at least 80 more taught postgraduate places in computing science from this year.
Will the minister take an intervention?
I am sorry, but I am out of time.
Enhancing vocational pathways for the sector must also be a priority. We will be improving and prioritising articulation routes from FE to HE for ICT and digital technologies subjects. I am pleased to note that some of our universities already have excellent articulation arrangements in place.
I believe that the skills investment plan provides the focus and the framework—which has partnership with industry at its core—to take us forward. I will talk about it in more detail in my summing-up remarks.
There is no doubt that our ability to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to us is central to positioning Scotland as a world-leading digital nation in a global digital economy.
I move,
That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Skills Investment Plan For Scotland’s ICT & Digital Technologies sector and associated £6.6 million funding for digital skills; acknowledges the critical importance of digital skills across Scotland’s economy; recognises that this is also a vibrant and growing sector in its own right, and welcomes a partnership approach with industry to meet future skills requirements, including increasing training, apprenticeship and employment opportunities for women and young people, who are currently underrepresented in the sector.
15:39
As the minister said, the digital and ICT sector is a thriving and growing part of Scotland’s economy. It already contributes 3 per cent of our economy, employs more than 73,000 people and adds value of £3 billion.
As a co-convener of the cross-party group on video games technology and a native of Dundee, where a great deal of digital jobs are based and which is home to one of Scotland’s leading ICT educational institutions in the University of Abertay, I see at first hand how Scotland takes a leading role in ICT and digital economy development and how we shape and apply evolving technology across sectors and industry and around the world.
It is always a great source of pride to me every time that I hear the game Minecraft mentioned, especially on Radio 2. It is an international hit that was made in 4J Studios in Dundee by former NCR employees and Dundee natives. Such success in our digital industries is a great source of pride in my home city and in Scotland.
Whether it be in using technology to find better treatments for cancer or in creating the latest video game sensations, such as Minecraft, Scotland is often at the fore. It is clear that the ICT and digital sector will become an even more important part of Scotland’s economy in the future, as the minister said. Such is the pace and scale of innovation that many of the jobs that those who are studying ICT courses at Abertay University and around Scotland will do in 20 years’ time have not even been thought of or created yet, but that is a challenge that we must meet.
It is paramount that, as the industry grows, we identify, nurture and promote the talent of our young people to drive the change in coming generations. We have the expertise and the opportunity at our fingertips, and we have a responsibility to ensure that our digital sector remains competitive and sustainable.
That effort begins early. In our schools, we must work with young people to promote ICT courses as attractive and exciting to do, as I said in my intervention on the minister. It is remarkable that, when the industry has such potential, the number of young people taking ICT courses to standard grade level in schools fell by more than a quarter in the four years to 2012. There was an associated fall of 17 per cent in the uptake of intermediate 1 courses. I was pleased to hear that the minister understands and has noted those figures and that she is prepared to take action.
We need to address the situation quickly, not least because the industry’s workforce is ageing. The number of 16 to 24-year-olds who work in the digital sector is half the figures in other occupations, which is surprising given that we associate the industry with young people.
The demand for people to be employed in digital and ICT roles is forecast conservatively to rise by 15 per cent to 84,000 by 2020, so we must generate the necessary interest and skills among our young people to fill the gap.
ICT in schools should be exciting and inspiring, and it should use the latest technology, as Patrick Harvie pointed out. It should show young people the potential of learning the skills to participate and develop in the sector. A constant focus is required to ensure that teachers are trained to do the job. I welcome what the minister said about Dr Allan’s commitment on teacher training. We must invest in our classrooms and link up with businesses and the technology sector, to show young people the possibilities of pursuing a career in ICT. I am sure that Angela Constance agrees that many of the recommendations in the interim Wood report go some way towards matching those aspirations.
According to the Scottish Government’s figures, the number of teachers who have computer studies as their primary subject fell by nearly 14 per cent between 2008 and 2012. If we look at the next step, in further education, we see that the reality does not match the Government’s ambition. Across further education, the number of students undertaking a computer-related course fell from 63,000 in 2005-06 to 42,000—nearly 43,000—in 2010-11. The number of all students undertaking a computer science course fell by nearly 13 per cent.
We know from previous debates that college ICT courses have been cut, so I would welcome a response from the minister about the action that the Government is taking to bolster technology courses in schools and further education in order to reverse the downward trend of provision and meet the skills gap.
One major concern that is cited in the investment plan is the number of women who are employed in the digital industry. The minister also addressed that. The plan notes that female participation fell by 13 per cent over the decade to 2012. We have a significant role to play in addressing that.
We must get better at promoting women in industry, not least through modern apprenticeships. Figures from Skills Development Scotland show that, in 2012-13, only 16 per cent of ICT modern apprenticeship starts were women and that women comprised only 15 per cent of modern apprenticeship achievements for the same year. What steps is the minister taking to improve the modern apprenticeship scheme to ensure that there is greater parity between men and women?
We face a skills shortage in one of the most exciting, rapidly developing and promising industries in Scotland. The facts that I have outlined on falling uptake and fewer courses in colleges, fewer teachers in schools and gender disparity in modern apprenticeships demand action from the Government if we are to mitigate the issues and grow our digital economy to its full potential.
The potential for Scotland’s economy and a whole generation of young people to innovate, create and build fulfilling and exciting international careers is substantial, but in order to capture that and make it a reality, the Government must commit to action across our entire education sector to nurture and grow the skills.
I move amendment S4M-09575.1, to insert at end:
“, and notes that the investment plan calls for adequate teaching capacity in schools, colleges and universities and to ensure that more college and university places are available to meet an increased demand”.
15:46
We will support the Government motion and the Labour amendment.
I would contest only one thing in the minister’s speech. ICT and digital technologies are not only for younger people. I say that as a silver surfer, but I was also made aware this week that even people in care homes use Skype and FaceTime to keep in touch with their families. I put that on the record.
On Monday, I attended the Wood commission summit for developing Scotland’s young workforce, which I found very encouraging and interesting. A recurring point of reference is ensuring that the education system meets the needs of the changing economy. Put simply, that equates to encouraging more Scots to take courses in information technology and, indeed, the STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—in school and further and higher education. That is vital to this debate because of the current imbalance between the demands and opportunities of the digital sector and the trained and qualified supply of labour.
Jenny Marra probably mentioned many of the figures that I have here. Since the turn of the decade, the number of businesses that operate in Scotland’s ICT sector has risen by 3.6 per cent, but the number of pupils who do what were standard grade computing qualifications has fallen by 27 per cent and there has been a 17 per cent fall in those taking computing intermediate 1 in the past few years. We have to reverse those trends, and that is why we welcome the debate. As Conservatives, we put on the record that we will support further measures to meet industry demand and provide opportunities for young people.
As Jenny Marra said, the number of computer studies teachers fell by 106 in the four-year period to 2012. That equates to a reduction of 14 per cent. That limits opportunities for young and older people to take classes that prepare them best for employment and entrepreneurship. Indeed, according to the Scottish funding council Infact database, enrolments in IT courses declined from 68,700 to 32,000 between 2007 and 2012. That is a fall of more than half, which is unacceptable given the opportunities that are available.
In higher education, statistics that were published last week revealed that the number of students who are studying computer science has fallen by more than 23 per cent in the past 10 years. I take the point about women, which both the minister and Jenny Marra mentioned. It is quite shocking that, even considering the skills investment plan, the female proportion of the digital workforce declined from 30 to 17 per cent in the 10 years until 2011.
Although attitudes are changing, they are changing only very slowly. As far as modern apprenticeships are concerned, recent statistics published by SDS reveal that, in the first three quarters of last year, there were 1,665 new engineering starts, of which 5 per cent were female. When it comes to IT, the figures were not much more encouraging. Out of 383 new ICT-related starts, 334 were male.
I refer to the Audit Scotland report on “Modern apprenticeships”, which came out last month. The Auditor General for Scotland recommends:
“Better IT systems could help SDS manage the administration of modern apprenticeships”.
Skills Development Scotland has an opportunity to lead by example and to recruit modern apprentices at all levels in order to make its own IT systems fit for purpose. I trust that ministers will be holding SDS to account.
Although we face a long battle ahead, there is much that can be done, such as the computer clubs for girls and the women in IT programme. It would be insincere not also to mention the briefing from the Prince’s Trust, which should shock all of us. The trust’s research on young people not in education, employment or training across the UK found that 10 per cent of young people cannot send a CV online and that 10 per cent feel out of their depth using a computer. This is also an inequalities issue.
15:52
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said recently at Stanford University:
“We are certainly living through one of the most exciting periods in human history. We can feel the air hum with virtual activity and reality transform before our very eyes. The pace of change is so fast that even the technology of five years ago seems prehistoric ... students probably do not even remember a time when phones were not smart, when cameras contained film, when texts meant school books, and when wireless referred to an old-fashioned radio!”
Within that pace of change there is a problem and an opportunity. The problem is that, across Europe, the number of computing graduates is stagnating, and the number of ICT professionals leaving for retirement is on the rise. The European parliamentary research service estimated that, over the next few years, Europe is facing a shortage of ICT professionals, with up to 900,000 unfilled vacancies across Europe. The same research also highlighted the opportunity in that:
“This young generation has grown up in the digital era, making them engaged and confident ICT-users. However, not enough students choose ICT-related subjects, with the number of computer science graduates dropping since 2005. Meanwhile, the ICT sector keeps growing by 3% every year.”
It is against that background of opportunity that I welcome the recent publication of the skills investment plan, produced by Skills Development Scotland, which is designed to encourage more people to train as ICT professionals, especially among our young.
The skills investment plan recognises that the Scottish ICT and digital technologies sector is thriving and that, between 2010 and 2013, the number of businesses operating in the sector increased to 6,500, employing 73,000 people and delivering £3 billion to the Scottish economy. The purpose of the skills investment plan is to co-ordinate the response from industry, education and Government in order to address the key IT skills shortages, focusing on the need for programmers and web designers and identifying the investment needed to tackle the issue.
Scotland is seen as a key player in areas such as big data, informatics and digital health but, if we are to retain that status, we need to continue to raise awareness of the employment opportunities that are available in the sector and to encourage more young people to study computer-related subjects.
What has been happening to address the issue? In our schools, curriculum for excellence gives young people opportunities to develop their understanding and skills by taking computing as a specialist subject. The number of young people who are undertaking the information technology professional modern apprenticeship has grown substantially in the past two years. Our universities continue to produce thousands of ICT graduates every year, and new degree courses are planned by the University of Stirling, in partnership with Forth Valley College.
The recent Scottish Government announcement of funding of £6.6 million to support digital skills and help to implement the skills investment plan will assist in the development of an industry-led digital skills academy, to support demand for up to 11,000 jobs per year.
To encourage students to consider a career in the IT sector, Edinburgh Napier University, in partnership with other public bodies, is delivering the e-placement Scotland programme, which encourages universities and employers to create more industrial placements in IT. IT students are helped to find the best work placements, and employers are helped to find the best potential employees.
Scotland has the potential to become a world-leading digital nation by 2020. The skills investment plan and the funding from the Scottish Government will help us to achieve that status.
15:56
I welcome the opportunity to take part in this important debate on the digital economy in Scotland.
There is no doubt that the world has changed a lot in members’ lifetimes. When I left Trinity high school in Cambuslang in 1980 to go to Bell College of Technology and study for a higher national certificate in computer data processing, I had never seen a computer. In 1988, when I started at Scottish Power as an analyst programmer, the IT department was dominated by mainframe terminals and there was only one personal computer. In 1997, when I was the Labour agent in Rutherglen, we thought that we were really cool and keeping up with technology because we had pagers.
I fast forward to now. When I look at my teenage daughters, whose first action when they wake up to the day is to turn on their smart devices, which are very much their window on the world, I realise how much the world has changed. That makes us wonder why fewer people are taking courses in computing at school, why fewer teachers have a teaching qualification that includes computing and why there are fewer college courses in computing. Why are we missing out? Why is there a skills gap?
The issue is reinforced when we speak to employers, who are crying out for IT professionals. There is no doubt that there is a massive opportunity in that regard. We need to bridge the skills gap, and we must start with schools. We must ensure that courses are attractive to students and relevant to employers, so that when students leave school, college or university they are able to take the opportunities that 21st century Scotland presents.
We must do as much as we can to improve digital connectivity throughout the country. Local councils have an important role to play. In the run-up to the Commonwealth games, there are excellent examples from Glasgow, where more than 50 new wi-fi spots will be introduced. If we improve wi-fi connectivity, we increase opportunities for businesses and for individuals.
Digital exclusion is an issue. Three years ago, West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative, in my constituency, carried out a survey and found that 64 per cent of people in the co-op were digitally excluded. We cannot get young people to undertake the courses and gain the qualifications if they do not have the opportunities in their communities that enable them to do so. I welcome the introduction of wi-fi hotspots, but we must ensure that people have the capability to access the technology; otherwise, we will not maximise the potential that exists.
The skills investment plan is welcome, but we need to do so much more to improve take-up in our schools and colleges and to upskill people if we are going to embrace the advantages that the digital economy presents in Scotland.
I now call Liam McArthur, to be followed by Clare Adamson.
It is over to Willie Coffey, isn’t it?
You are absolutely right—thank you very much. I now call Willie Coffey, to be followed by Liam McArthur—forgive me.
16:00
A little computer glitch there, perhaps, Presiding Officer.
James Kelly’s speech reminded me of my early career in computing. One day in the early 1980s, I brought home a microcomputer and had to get my brother to help me to cart it into the house as it was so big and heavy.
Last night in the Parliament, I had the privilege of convening the cross-party group on digital participation. As members might expect, the group focuses on issues relating to the exclusion that James Kelly mentioned and on access to internet services. At the meeting we heard some stark messages from our contributors on the real story behind IT exclusion in Scotland.
We heard from Chris Yiu of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations that 30 per cent of Scotland’s population—approximately 1.3 million people—lack online skills, which is higher than the rate of 21 per cent for the rest of the UK.
We heard from Keith Dryburgh of Citizens Advice Scotland that only around half the clients his organisation deals with have access to an internet connection at home. More alarmingly, given the current direction of travel in the UK, three quarters of citizens advice bureaux clients said that they would struggle to apply for benefits, with 39 per cent of them saying that they could not apply online at all. We also heard from Douglas White of the Carnegie UK Trust that digital exclusion is prevalent among lower-income groups and the over 75s.
Many of the contributors asked for more to be done on improving digital literacy and people’s basic know-how to enable them to use new technology not only to enrich the quality of their lives but, in many cases, to maintain their right to ordinary benefits and to keep their heads above water.
Looking at the wide range of initiatives from the Scottish Government and its various partners that are currently under way, I am encouraged to see considerable effort and resources being aimed at tackling those exclusion issues and improving skills, along with the on-going work to encourage girls and young women in particular to consider careers in computing.
One reason for the shortage of young people who are attracted to software engineering has been a lack of expertise in schools. Most software engineers whom I knew of would be too busy working in the industry to come back to school to try to encourage youngsters along that career path. The First Minister’s announcement of £6.6 million to support digital skills development is a great boost and will help us to address many of the issues that I am raising.
I am particularly pleased to read about the planned work with SCVO to reach out to some of our most excluded communities via the digital participation charter, and I am certain that our colleagues who attended the CPG last night will be delighted to hear about that. The funding to attract young women to the industry is also welcome.
It amazes me, as a computer science graduate, that we still have a problem in attracting enough young people—including young women—to study software engineering. It is a fantastic career, with median salaries in Scotland at around £38,000, and there is plenty of scope for people to develop their careers in almost limitless ways, constrained only by the limits of their own creativity. The opportunity to work in many locations throughout the world is also a real possibility.
Providing faster networks, connectivity and cabling will certainly take Scotland into the modern digital world, but, in order to go further and become that world-leading digital nation, we will need something more than just the best infrastructure. We have to make it easy for our citizens to get online, and we must offer them the skills so that they can use the software that is there. We have to make the software itself easy to use for both able-bodied people and disabled people.
Perhaps even more crucially, we need to think about opening up access to the internet for staff and employees at work. There are far too many examples of people being denied access to the internet and software at work. In my view, that hampers progress towards our goal of being world class.
The pace of change in new technology and software applications is such that we should positively encourage people to use what is out there. We should trust people to act responsibly and give them the freedom to learn and discover. Everyone will gain from that—and then watch us take off as a world leader in the coming years.
I am delighted to support the motion.
16:05
Thank you for the advance billing, Presiding Officer.
This is a brief but important debate and I am delighted to take part in it. I very much welcome the Scottish Government’s investment plan.
In the short time available to me, I will cover the areas of access and skills.
In Colleges Scotland’s briefing for the debate, I was struck by the suggestion that
“The digital economy brings benefits to those with the appropriate technological skills, however, it threatens to leave behind those unable to access digital technologies.”
All those who have spoken in the debate have, in some way, talked about the risk of that digital divide, which we can see being played out at multiple levels. There is a digital divide between Scotland as a nation and those with whom we compete and trade; there is a digital divide between communities in Scotland; and there are individuals in our communities who are digitally excluded.
I was not able to attend last night’s CPG meeting, to which Willie Coffey referred, but I remember an earlier meeting at which we heard evidence from the Carnegie UK Trust about its work on digital exclusion. Some of the figures, particularly from around Glasgow, are striking. There, the issue is not whether people have broadband access; the issue is that even those who have broadband access are not availing themselves of it. Some community members—those who are older, less skilled, disabled or poorer—seem to be suffering disproportionately as a result. The Carnegie UK Trust proposed options for addressing the situation, such as better collaboration, focusing on the person and not the technology, and making the technology fun and relevant. I see that in my own constituency, where the get IT together in Orkney project is doing fantastic work by making people comfortable with the technology and helping them to see its relevance.
All too often, however, the issue in places such as Orkney is not whether people want access to broadband technology or have the skills to access it; it is whether they can access it in the first place, given that there is a lack of coverage. Lack of coverage affects those who live in the remoter parts of my constituency, but it also impacts on the work on the European Marine Energy Centre, which sometimes struggles to monitor the deployment of its wave and tidal devices. Huge investment is being made in the roll-out of broadband in the Highlands and Islands, but there are still gaps to be plugged. The earlier that we identify those and find community-based solutions for them, the better.
Other members have referred to the figures on skills, so I will not go over them again. We face a real challenge, although it is a Europe-wide challenge and is not unique to Scotland. Colleges Scotland has given us alarming figures on the drop in the take-up of IT and telecoms courses between 2005 and 2013. It is not a problem for colleges only; it seems to come through the school system, and I have recently seen the problem of teachers lacking the relevant experience. Jenny Marra is right to point to the reduction in the number of college courses, which is exacerbating the problem that we face.
We need to turn the situation around. Although the new qualifications will help, we need to work collaboratively with employers to get the relevant skills for current and future needs. Maggie Morrison gave interesting evidence to the Education and Culture Committee on that point earlier this week. The Prince’s Trust has made the point that STEM literacy is not just for those who intend to work in STEM careers but needs to be applied across the board.
The digital economy offers huge opportunities, but without the relevant skills there is a risk of exclusion from the economy and wider society. I therefore welcome the investment plan and the work of the Wood commission, which give us confidence that we are going about addressing the issues in the right way. However, I do not think that we should be under any illusion about the challenges that we face.
16:09
I declare an interest as a member of the British Computer Society and as a member of girl geek Scotland, which is a networking group.
I stand here to speak highly of careers and opportunities in the digital sector as an IT professional who no longer works in the sector—the irony is not lost on me. However, the debate gives me the opportunity to concur with my colleague Willie Coffey and the minister on how good IT jobs are, what wonderful opportunities they offer and how highly valued they are in our society.
We have had many debates in the chamber about retention in STEM careers, particularly in relation to women. The issue is highlighted in the Royal Society of Edinburgh report “Tapping all our Talents—Women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: a strategy for Scotland”. As the minister highlighted, the demographic challenges facing the IT and engineering sectors cannot be underestimated. Quite simply, we have not sufficiently educated and trained enough people in those areas, and we must encourage more young people into those highly valued, rewarding careers.
I welcome the publication of the “Skills Investment Plan for Scotland’s ICT and Digital Technologies sector”. I also welcome the commitment of £6.6 million for digital skills funding. As my colleague Liam McArthur said, at this week’s meeting of the Education and Culture Committee we heard evidence on the area from Maggie Morrison, formerly of Hewlett-Packard and now director of the public sector and open digital services centre. She is a highly experienced IT professional who talked about the challenges she faced in securing suitable candidates to fill roles in her latest business venture in Glasgow, which offers more than 100 highly valued and highly rewarding jobs.
We also heard about the great partnership work that is being carried out across Scotland with further and higher education establishments to encourage more young people to study ICT and digital technology.
At the meeting, I mentioned New College Lanarkshire, which is in my region and which is promoting articulated routes through to degree-level qualifications by working with the further education sector. I commend New College Lanarkshire for topping the medals board at the recent national skills competition that was run by WorldSkills UK. Eleven of the college’s students received awards for outstanding work, including Kim Reid, who received a gold medal in the IT software solutions for business category, and Shona McGarrity, who won silver in that category. We value the opportunity that that skills event offers young people. The event also promotes the sector to other students.
As I am the co-convener of the cross-party group on video games technology, I must mention the group’s recent meeting. We had a presentation from Skills Development Scotland on skills and its work on the certificate of work readiness, which highlighted the opportunity to support young people into the creative industries, including the computer games industry. My co-convener, Ms Marra, spoke very well about the strength of Dundee in that area. A pilot is being run in Dundee to support 10 young people into the games industry.
There was also a presentation from Creative Skillset on the funding that it offers—the funds come from the UK Government and the sector—to support the development of skills and cross-training for the games sector. A lot of good work is going on in Scotland, but we should not be complacent.
I commend Abertay University for developing an app for kids—an unpacking toolkit that lets those with no programming experience use building blocks to create their own apps. That will encourage young primary school children to get involved in games development.
I support the motion.
16:13
On the importance of the Scottish digital economy, business gateway Glasgow has launched a new business development project called building better business. Its aims are to boost the development of Glasgow’s digital economy and to raise awareness of the benefits of social media and digital business among small and medium-sized enterprises in Glasgow. The digital economy is central to the growth of Glasgow’s economy and has the potential to attract investment and facilitate job creation.
Building better business offers free workshops on social media to Glasgow businesses, with funding of up to £1,000—known as a digital business grant—available to new starts. That project and the grants offered are designed to help Glasgow businesses create an online presence and use digital tools to aid their development and growth.
In July 2013, 11 digital businesses in Glasgow won funding competitions. Among the winning ideas were small digital tags for wireless monitoring and security apparatus, and computer games tendering technology, which will help to make feature films easier and cheaper to produce. The winning companies were offered up to 60 per cent funding for those projects.
The UK’s internet economy is growing at 10 per cent a year. By 2016, it will account for 10 per cent of gross domestic product. The UK spends more per head over the internet than any other nation, and UK businesses are leading the use of digital technology.
The health and care sector in Scotland is a major beneficiary of new technology and innovation. It is the first sector to benefit from Scotland’s technology and engineering framework for action, the protocol for focusing on developing Scotland’s capability in technology and engineering. The framework for action, which was launched at Scotland’s technology show in Glasgow last year, is targeted at improving public services and growing Scotland’s economy. It sits alongside the £10 million investment in the digital health institute, which will co-ordinate work between health and care, academia and industry to identify pioneering digital operations.
Glasgow City Council is also playing its role in supporting the flourishing of digital technology in Scotland—we have seen that time and time again. Glasgow city councillors tend to take the lead in supporting many of the new ideas in industry and technology.
I note that our young people in particular are doing well, although I take on board the fact that our elders are also keen on using technology. My mother is an example of that—she tells me how I can access some of the free services that are available on websites.
I support the amendment, and I hope that other members will too.
16:18
I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak in today’s debate, but I am overwhelmed by the number of my colleagues who have significant IT experience and I feel a bit of a luddite in their presence. However, I know that digital technology, including superfast broadband, will be a hugely important element of Scotland’s future economy, providing the very infrastructure upon which much of our business—locally, nationally and internationally—will depend. It is therefore essential that we ensure that Scotland has a communications infrastructure capable of delivering for Scottish businesses, communities and individuals. That is why the step change programme and the creation of a superfast broadband infrastructure are vital for all of Scotland.
Today, however, our focus is on developing skills for Scotland’s digital economy, and particularly on the skills investment plan, which I know we all welcome. We should also recognise that the skills plan can work to its maximum effect only if it is properly joined up and linked with the step change programme, and I shall explain what I mean by that.
Gordon MacDonald and others said that Scotland’s ICT and digital technology industries create billions for the economy and employ many thousands of digital technology professionals. The skills plan recognises that there must be appropriate training opportunities to satisfy the demand for a qualified workforce for start-up enterprises, existing indigenous companies and potential inward investors.
In the Stirling area, we have a skilled workforce, but there is no complacency on whether its skills will suffice for the digital economy of the future, which is why—as Gordon MacDonald mentioned—two new digital technology-based degree courses run by Forth Valley College and the University of Stirling are mirroring the Scottish Government drive to develop new ICT skills. They are a very welcome part of the developing picture of skills training available. The courses are innovative and recognise the increasing importance of having a skilled workforce ready to embrace new technology and development. In short, they are just what the sector requires and I hope that we see constant innovation such as that collaboration between those two excellent education institutions replicated across the country.
Some of Forth Valley College’s apprentices go into the oil and gas industry, not a million miles from here, and earlier this week I met some of them upstairs at the oil and gas academy of Scotland event. Eighty per cent of those apprentices are male. I understand that the Scottish funding council has the power to claw back funding from further and higher education institutions if gender targets are not met. Does Bruce Crawford agree that we need to empower the funding council to claw that funding back or have stronger sanctions? I do not believe that the power is used.
Jenny Marra is ahead of me there; I was not aware that the power was available. I am not sure that using a stick approach rather than a carrot approach always works in such circumstances, but it is an interesting suggestion.
We will see the development of ICT skills and we will also face challenges in ensuring the scope and adequacy of the digital infrastructure—which Liam McArthur touched on—particularly in rural and remote areas, including parts of the Stirling constituency that I represent. Developing faster broadband speeds will be essential, as it will help hugely in delivering a workforce throughout Scotland that is highly proficient in ICT skills, whether individuals undertake an ICT distance learning package at home or vocational training in the remote or rural workplace.
That is what I meant earlier when I said that the skills plan can work to maximum effect only if it is appropriately joined up with the step change programme. High-speed internet connectivity is essential to ensure that people who live in rural Scotland are fully able to develop the digital skills that will equip them and Scotland to succeed in the future.
I am coming to the end of my time, so I will just say that I hope that the minister and her colleagues take my point on board and look at how best the step change programme can help to deliver the skills plan, particularly for rural and remote communities.
16:23
Developing skills for Scotland’s digital economy has never been more important. The world is increasingly embracing technology in all aspects of life and we need to ensure that Scotland is equipped to be at the forefront of this technological revolution. As we have heard, the recently released skills investment plan has highlighted a worrying trend: from 2007 to 2012, there was a 27 per cent drop in those taking standard grade computing and a 17 per cent drop in intermediate 1 in our schools.
We can attract investment only if we have the best educated workforce in the world, yet the number of teachers who have computing studies as their main subject has decreased by 13.8 per cent, as has been mentioned many times this afternoon, and it has been reported that some schools do not even have dedicated teaching facilities for computing or ICT skills.
Between 2005-06 and 2011-12, 140,000 college places were cut and there was a 20,161 drop in the number of further education students who take computer-related courses. I note that the minister said in her opening remarks that the Government is increasing the number of student teachers for those subjects, but if it is to reverse the trend, the number of digital technology-related places in colleges should be increased. Just as important, our schools should at least be offering the subject and ensuring that they use the latest technology.
Another tool that we should be using to develop skills for Scotland’s digital economy is modern apprenticeships, which we should ensure are properly accredited and approved and provide people with high-quality training as an alternative to the academic route. We could, for example, have a pooled apprentice scheme to help small businesses afford high-quality apprenticeships and help apprentices gain a wider range of work experience and skills. Such an approach could also address the problem of underrepresentation of young people in certain industries, including ICT.
As well as that underrepresentation, there is an increasing gender gap in the take-up of apprenticeships; for example, only 16 per cent of the 468 new starts in IT professional modern apprenticeships were female. Furthermore, over the past 10 years, female participation rates in ICT and digital technology occupations have fallen from 30 to 17 per cent. I am interested to hear what the Scottish Government is doing to encourage more girls and women to take up and pursue ICT as a career choice. After all, we do not want to be here in five years’ time, discussing the same issues as we are highlighting this afternoon.
If we are serious about developing skills for a digital economy, we must increase the availability and take-up of courses now and ensure that all schools in Scotland have the capacity to teach the subject and, indeed, are teaching current-generation skills so that they are not outdated by the time the students enter the workplace. We must ensure that modern apprenticeships are robust and properly accredited and give our young people the best chance of gaining a wide range of skills that will lead to a future career, and we also need to tackle the growing gender gap. The quicker we address those issues, the better it will be for our digital sector.
If our schools and colleges are not offering the right courses or places, if our modern apprenticeships are not robust, and if we do not tackle the increasing gender gap, we risk losing out to countries that are producing the right skills, and we could lose a sector that is becoming increasingly crucial to the Scottish economy overall.
16:27
Mary Scanlon, James Kelly and Willie Coffey, among others, have talked about digital exclusion and digital literacy, and I want to take the few minutes that I have to highlight what libraries are doing to address that issue. Unless we tackle the problems of the digital divide and ensure that people are digitally literate, our young people will simply not see the point of pursuing the fantastic careers that Clare Adamson and Willie Coffey have described. Of course, in making a speech about the role of libraries, I must refer members to my register of interests: I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals and the chair of the Scottish Library and Information Council.
If we are to address digital exclusion, we must secure physical access to the internet and to digital resources. I am proud that, to date, £400 million of Scottish Government money has been invested in the rollout of broadband across Scotland. I know that we are still not reaching the country’s hardest to reach geographical areas and people, but we are making a good stab at doing so and plan to keep going in that direction. I also draw to the chamber’s attention the fact that 8.5 million hours per annum of free internet access are available in Scotland’s public libraries, which means that, until the broadband rollout has been completed, there will be a place where people can easily access these services.
However, as far as digital exclusion and efforts to involve folk in the digital world are concerned, the biggest issue is how we use, not how we access, this technology. That is all to do with digital literacy, which is what underpins ICT and digital technology skills—and all of that, in turn, is part of information literacy. These are core life skills. In this debate, members have mentioned many times the need for computing studies teachers in schools, but I make a pitch for the school librarian, who I believe is best placed to introduce the core skill of information literacy to every pupil in the country. After all, once pupils have such literacy, they can move along the line to digital literacy.
Increasingly, in the 21st century, information literacy and digital literacy are also lifelong skills. That is where public libraries have a great role to play. In Scotland, there are more than 500 public libraries—or, as I heard them referred to last night at a meeting of the cross-party group on digital participation, “information hubs”—which are freely accessible to everyone. Some 30 million visits are made to libraries every year—the majority of those visits are made by women—and 500,000 visits are made to learning centres in libraries. I say to the minister that one of the ways of increasing women’s participation in the digital skills agenda would be to catch those women when they are in the public library.
Through the Scottish Library and Information Council, we invest Scottish Government money in the public library improvement fund. The projects have changed phenomenally in the past few years. For example, in North Ayrshire, we have mums and tots working with iPads, to get them used to being part of the digital world. However, in the short time that I have today, I want to bring the attention of the chamber to the coding sessions that are being held in libraries in Dundee and Edinburgh. That is where we are moving young people from being digital consumers to digital creators. They are learning—especially in Dundee, with the help of volunteer students from Abertay University—how to do the coding to make the games that they want to play. I should also mention that, last night, I heard that 3D printing is coming to schools in the very far north of Scotland.
We must overcome the digital divide by providing access and, above all, the skills and motivation to use the technology. I am proud of the comprehensive and inclusive role that libraries are playing, and will continue to play, in this area, and of the fact that they are funded by the Scottish Government to do so.
16:31
I agree with much of what has been said on the likely growth of demand for skilled professionals; the need for our education services to provide those skills; infrastructure issues; the digital divide; and the opportunities for young people and, in particular, young women. I do not disagree with any of it and I will be voting for the motion and the amendment. However, there is much that has not been said about this issue, because digital participation does not only concern access. Being a creative citizen online, not just a consumer, as Fiona McLeod rightly said, means more than simply having those skills. If we are going to maximise the social, cultural and economic benefits that digital technology has to offer, it demands an agenda of digital rights as well. I regret that the chamber does not have the opportunity to debate the amendment that I lodged—it is on page 29 of the Business Bulletin, if anyone is interested.
If people are going to be active citizens online and participate in a genuine way, we must have trust in the digital technologies that we are accessing. I believe that that requires an agenda of digital rights. That agenda raises questions of privacy, consent and the use of individual data and metadata by Government and corporate players. It raises questions of how power is exercised online, not merely of which products we choose to consume online. It raises questions about intellectual property. An intellectual property framework is important, but it has to strike the balance between the stimulation and the dissemination of cultural and creative goods, on the one hand, and fair recompense for creative work, on the other. Often, the IP framework that we have at the moment fails to strike that balance and serves only the corporate interests of those who control IP, not the interests of those who need to access it.
Today, the European Parliament made an important decision that was designed to protect the principle of net neutrality, which is that internet service providers must treat all data with parity and should not discriminate between different types of data. Back in the day, before most of us read our newspapers online, we would have found it bizarre that the newspaper that we bought could choose to alter its cover price for different groups of consumers or prevent us from accessing a rival newspaper. The principle of neutrality must be applied in the online world as well. The decision of the European Parliament to establish and try to protect the principle of net neutrality will be an important one, if the Commission does not attempt to overturn it.
In his opening remarks, the minister reminded us that the internet recently had its 25th anniversary. Sir Tim Berners-Lee used the anniversary to call for a digital bill of rights: legal protection for citizens’ rights in the online world. I believe that it is essential to follow through on that if we want to maximise the social, cultural and economic benefits that the online world has to offer. For those of us who spend too much of our lives buried in Twitter, it is easy to forget the astonishing point in history that could come about in our lifetimes; a moment when the entire world’s population can access the sum total of human knowledge at the touch of a screen. I find it hard to describe that provocative idea without using the word “revolutionary”. If we want Scotland to be at the forefront of and to give leadership in that digital revolution, we need to engage not only with the technical questions but with the deeply political questions that a digital rights agenda raises.
I encourage the minister in her closing speech to give some indication of the Scottish Government’s approach to that agenda.
16:36
A fortnight ago we debated the European youth guarantee and the difficulties that young people throughout Scotland and Europe face in trying to gain employment. In that debate, it is fair to say that we all agreed that Scotland can ill afford to have scores of young people unable to find employment. The youth guarantee seeks to assist young people after a period of unemployment. Having access to the necessary skills to find a job in the dynamic, ever-changing world of work is essential. Accordingly, at a time when there is an increasing focus on digital technology, the significant investment in job creation announced by the Scottish Government for digital Scotland, as well as the launch of the ICT skills investment plan, should be welcomed.
Every one of us in the chamber today will have seen technological advances that would have seemed alien to us just a few decades ago. Indeed, James Kelly and Willie Coffey have reminded us of that. Like Bruce Crawford, I am more on the luddite side of things. However, I recognise that technological advances can drive Scotland forward to become a world-leading force. To achieve that we first require the people with the necessary skills, which does not necessarily mean just those with university qualifications.
As the SIP states, Scotland already receives a significant amount of foreign direct investment in digital technologies but faces a significant skills shortage in that field, just like the rest of Europe. Scotland’s digital sector needs to grow and adapt. To do that, however, we need to provide more people with greater access to ICT and digital technologies. Labour’s amendment notes the SIP’s reference to additional college and university places and to teaching capacity. To grow the digital sector we need to start engaging with people as early as possible in their education.
The SIP highlights the worrying and significant drop in the uptake of computing classes at schools across Scotland, with a 27 per cent fall in uptake at standard grade level between 2008 and 2012. How, therefore, do we engage young people with technology? That might seem like a moot question, as the vast majority of young people have access to smartphones, tablets and other such devices, but there is a substantial difference between using the technology and becoming pioneers in the digital sector.
The answer, at least in part, seems to be in digital participation at a nationwide level. In that context, I, like others, welcome the Scottish Government's continued investment in superfast broadband and look forward with anticipation to the next announcement of areas set to benefit. Like many other MSPs, I receive regular complaints from constituents about broadband speeds of less than 1 megabit per second. For those constituents, some would say that upgrades cannot come soon enough, while others still struggle to receive even a patchy, 2G mobile phone reception. This is a really important issue for those in rural parts of Scotland.
To grow our digital sector, therefore, we need to continue to expand the number of people who are able to use fast, reliable digital technology. I sincerely hope that the target set in the Scottish Government’s digital strategy will be met.
Young people will play a vital role in realising that vision. They need to be encouraged to take an interest in STEM subjects and I welcome the £250,000 investment in careerwise to encourage female participation. That is a good start, but I accept that more can be done.
There is an unmistakable link between the provision in education of ICT skills and improving the size and ability of Scotland’s ICT workforce. By engaging with young people early on in their academic lives about the opportunities that the sector can provide, I hope that we can make sure that a new generation of people is ready to take forward Scotland’s digital economy. As Carnegie UK Trust says in its briefing, digital skills are essential to the wellbeing of communities and citizens in 21st century Scotland.
Without doubt, Scotland needs and deserves a first-rate digital infrastructure that will one day, I hope, not only keep up with but lead the world.
16:40
It has been a very good debate, furnished by academic and commercial expertise from members right across the chamber. I conclude a number of things from the debate. First, the ICT and digital technology sector has, thus far, been a success story. Indeed, there is broad consensus on that. The sector covers a range of fields and geographic areas in Scotland. We heard about the 73,000 jobs that it supports and the fact that a high proportion of those jobs are good quality and paid well above the national average wage. We have also heard from a number of speakers about the sector’s GVA contribution to the economy.
Secondly, opportunities exist to grow that success story not just organically but substantially over the next decade or two. We heard statistics about the potential for up to 11,000 new entrants a year, and the opportunity to increase GVA by £3.7 billion, which would more than double the economic contribution. Of course, the sector makes contributions across various fields, including in foreign direct investment and, crucially, in exports.
Although the sector has been a success story so far and it has enormous potential, the challenge is managing to tap into that potential. We could face difficulties in that regard because demand outstrips supply so, without fairly major interventions, meeting that challenge will grow demonstrably harder. Therefore, I and others in the chamber welcome the skills investment plan that was published a couple of weeks ago and which was the subject of much of the debate.
The situation must be turned around if we are to extract all the potential. One or two positive figures are included in the report. The minister quite rightly referred to the substantial increase in modern apprenticeships—I think that she gave the figure of 468 modern apprenticeships for the most recent academic year. However, aside from that, a number of indicators in the report were moving in the opposite direction and in a trend that none of us wants to see. Numerous members mentioned those figures, including the 27 per cent fall in standard grade entrants and a small drop in higher grade entrants between 2007 and 2011, a drop in the number of computer studies teachers by 13 per cent between 2008 and 2012, and the reduction of student numbers in the college sector from 63,000 to just under 43,000 between 2005-06 and 2010-11.
All those figures are moving in the wrong direction, so it is critical that the plan is implemented swiftly and for the medium to longer term. It is also crucial that the plan is adapted to suit the circumstances of the time, given that technology changes year by year. On top of that, it is vital that the plan is suitably monitored by ministers, Skills Development Scotland and the Parliament more widely. It is easy to set targets for 2020; the hard part is monitoring the targets year by year to make sure that we make sufficient progress towards them. Without that monitoring, the targets would end up being fairly meaningless.
I ask whether the minister, if she has time in what I suspect will be a fairly short closing speech, will give us any further details on the promised £6.6 million funding to promote digital skills and whether that will be a recurring or one-off sum.
I have a final point to make on an issue that has not been touched on. Appendix 3 of the report says:
“It has been reported that some schools do not have any dedicated provision for teaching ICT/computing.”
I do not know whether that is true and, if it is true, I do not know how widespread it is. Will the minister give a personal commitment to get somebody from the Government to look into that comment? If it is true, it must not be true in weeks’ or months’ time. We can all agree that it cannot be the case if we are to tap into our potential.
16:45
I welcome Gavin Brown’s final comments and add my support for the suggestion that the Scottish Government look into the issue as a matter of priority.
The debate has been constructive and interesting. It has focused on a wide range of issues. We agree that the digital economy is a thriving and essential part of Scotland’s economy, but the main theme that has been carried throughout the debate is that we could do a bit more to encourage it, nurture it and help it to grow into the industry that we want it to be.
Chief among the points that have been raised is the need to promote the right skills in the right people to support future growth and investment. The Scottish Government obviously has a significant role to play in that through Skills Development Scotland.
The investment plan ought to be used as intended: as a pulse check for the industry and its key partners to inform future policy developments in areas where we can make improvements. Labour has raised areas where we believe that improvements can be made: our education system—our schools and colleges—and modern apprenticeships.
As we have heard from several members, we have fewer teachers in our schools who have ICT as their main subject and, as Gavin Brown highlighted, there is a concern that there might be no ICT provision in some schools. As we know, college courses have been cut and there is less uptake of the courses that remain. We also know—and the minister acknowledged—that fewer women are engaging in our digital economy. That could be improved, particularly through our modern apprenticeship scheme.
There is growing demand for skilled labour in the sector, with up to 11,000 jobs per year. To fill them, we must be proactive in every part of our education system, encouraging and inspiring young people to enter the industry.
The Government has committed to using £12 million of Barnett consequentials to implement the Wood commission’s recommendations and I am certain that that will provide us with an opportunity to work with businesses, local authorities, colleges and schools to develop digital skills and link opportunities with our young people.
Some interesting and useful speeches were made in the debate. Mary Scanlon pointed to research from the Prince’s Trust that said that 10 per cent of young people feel out of their depth using computers to prepare their CVs. She said that that is an equalities issue. I thoroughly agree with that. It is also a poverty issue and an issue of digital exclusion, which my colleague James Kelly touched on.
I would very much like to hear something on digital exclusion in the minister’s closing remarks. It is a particular problem in my home city of Dundee, and it is a problem not only for the industry. We know that digital exclusion results in families paying more on their weekly and monthly bills and has all sorts of impacts on our communities.
James Kelly said that we must improve our digital connectivity throughout Scotland and remarked on the improvements that Glasgow is making as it produces more wi-fi hotspots. However, we all know that a marked improvement in 3G coverage and wi-fi could be made throughout Scotland.
I agree with Ms Marra’s comments about digital exclusion in relation to hardware. Is she aware of the work by the Carnegie UK Trust that indicates that, once we give people the hardware, we need to ensure that they want to connect?
I agree with that to some extent, but there is an issue with coverage in some areas. There is also an issue about access to hardware and the cost of connecting. Perhaps that is fodder for another debate.
Liam McArthur mentioned another important point that the Prince’s Trust made. STEM literacy is important not just for the ICT industry, but for our schools and the whole future generation. Every time I speak to young people, I find out that they are taking fewer science and language courses. It must be a concern that there are no compulsory measures in place to ensure that our next generation is literate in those subjects.
I was not surprised that Patrick Harvie made one of the most articulate speeches in the debate. He focused on digital rights, which, again, is perhaps a subject for another debate, but it is certainly a concept that Labour would be interested in exploring. I welcome the motion that was passed in the European Parliament today.
The debate has been very constructive and positive. I welcome the investment that the Government has made in our digital economy and the commitment to it that it has announced today. The investment plan identifies an emerging skills gap, which should and could be filled. Jobs in our digital economy are among the most rewarding and exciting jobs for our young people—indeed, for everyone. As the industry continues to develop, I am certain that we can work together to build the necessary skills in our young people to make it as profitable and rewarding for our country as possible.
16:51
The debates that I enjoy the most are those in which members bring their own passions, interests and experiences to the chamber. We heard that Jenny Marra is very passionate about Minecraft. My six-year-old son will be exceptionally impressed by the fact that his favourite subject has been debated in the Parliament. We heard that Fiona McLeod—who made a thoughtful contribution—is very interested in libraries. As far as experiences are concerned, we heard James Kelly and others take a trip down memory lane. In addition, Clare Adamson outed herself as a girl geek—and a very proud one, at that.
Bruce Crawford, Gavin Brown and Liam McArthur all made the highly legitimate point that the digital skills agenda sits in a much broader context. The issue of digital skills has obvious connections with the digital economy, digital infrastructure and, of course, digital participation. Fiona Hyslop will launch the new digital participation strategy in the near future. Members made the point that participation is closely linked to the needs of our economy. For small businesses in particular, digital literacy is a continuing issue, which links to what Mary Scanlon described as inequalities. The Prince’s Trust, in what was a highly informative and challenging briefing, made that point very well.
I hope that members will not mind me focusing my remarks, in the little time that I have available, on the skills agenda, young people and women. Whether in the Parliament or when I am out on ministerial engagements, I always have some trepidation when the subject matter relates to technology, ICT or anything digital, because I am very conscious of my IT limitations. When a problem arises, quite often my response is to bash the technology and to shout at someone to sort it—that person is usually my husband.
Like James Kelly, I was probably among the first school pupils to experience the teaching of computing science in school back in the early 1980s. As a young teenager at the time, my experience was that—to my shame, I suppose—I was completely and utterly disengaged from it. Of course, schools today are very different from the schools of my time in how they engage with young people and how they teach a variety of subjects in the curriculum.
There is no doubt that the conundrum is that, although young people are voracious users of technology, they do not always see the relevance of formally studying computing science and related subjects to their careers and their future working lives. It is important that we consider why that is and what young people’s views are. When questioned, nearly a third of young people will describe how ICT is not engaging enough for them. That is where the skills investment plan is important to schools in supporting ICT learning and supporting teachers to have the most up-to-date knowledge about technology and current practice in the workplace.
The skills investment plan is important to raising the profile of careers. I am not sure whether “The IT Crowd” has done much to persuade parents about the contribution that people who pursue an IT career can make to the economy. However, an important point for schools in the plan concerns engagement with the world of work—with business and industry—in every aspect of our education system.
I am pleased to inform the chamber that I will accept the amendment that Jenny Marra lodged. I was interested in Patrick Harvie’s amendment, which was not selected. I would certainly have been minded to accept it or at least the spirit in which it was presented.
I am grateful for the minister’s words. I offer one practical suggestion that would give effect to the agenda. If the UK Government seeks in any way to undermine or overturn the European Parliament’s decision on net neutrality, will the Scottish Government object to that clearly in public and in joint ministerial committees?
I give Mr Harvie the undertaking that I will discuss that with my ministerial colleagues who are more directly responsible for the issue. I can say that, by and large, the Scottish Government tends to be more pro-Europe than our UK counterparts.
Jenny Marra and Mary Scanlon made serious points. It must be acknowledged that the number of young people in schools, colleges and universities who are studying computer science or related subjects is falling. We need to do our utmost to reverse that tide. A range of actions needs to be taken across the education system, which should start from the early years and go through secondary schools, colleges and universities. Actions also need to be taken in the workplace.
Will the minister commit to looking at the point that I raised with Bruce Crawford, which was about the Scottish funding council’s power to claw back funding when gender targets are not being met? She and I have both acknowledged that those targets are not being met in our colleges and universities.
I give Ms Marra the undertaking that I will look at that in conjunction with my colleague Shona Robison. Ms Marra and I might differ in our understanding of what is and is not possible, but I will not quibble about giving her an undertaking to look at the issue in more detail.
The skills investment plan is important to the range of actions that we need to undertake, but so are regional outcome agreements, which are intended to ensure that our universities and colleges respond more flexibly to the demand from students. There is also additional funding for additional STEM places, because it is important that the intake on ICT courses does not improve at the expense of other STEM subjects.
As for the modern apprenticeship programme, we can be pleased with the rapid increase in the number under the ICT framework from 24 in 2008-09 to what I hope will be nearer 600 this year—we will have to wait for confirmation of that. It is regrettable that only 20 per cent of the cohort under that framework are women, which falls far short of our aspiration, although it is much better than the figures for the engineering and construction frameworks, for example.
Members sought information on actions that have been undertaken by Skills Development Scotland. We gave an undertaking to the Equal Opportunities Committee to have an awareness-raising campaign in Scottish apprenticeship week; Skills Development Scotland has undertaken a range of actions with the Scottish resource centre for women in science, engineering and technology; and it is working very closely with Scottish union learning to raise awareness and reach others, which is important.
Ultimately, the skills investment plan is crucial. It has been devised and developed with industry leading the way. There are four very important themes that respond to the immediate needs of industry. Earlier in the chamber, I answered questions from Willie Coffey about the digital skills academy. We also need to raise the sector’s profile, broaden the future talent pipeline and make our education system far more responsive to the needs of industry. It is important to make the point that we will review progress and revisit issues in a year’s time to ensure that the skills investment plan is doing what it set out to do.