Question reference: S6W-10567
- Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 23 August 2022
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 24 August 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government when details will be made available regarding year six of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, and when it will commence.
Answer
Year Six of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund is ready to commence in line with the new 2022-23 academic year.
An evaluation of FWDF is near completion and we expect to publish the report in the coming weeks. In advance of this, minor changes are being made to standardise the offer to organisations this year, with further changes to be considered on completion of the evaluation process. We will consult stakeholders and align any further changes with the strategic lifetime skills commitments outlined in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.
In Year Four changes were made to FWDF which made support available to non-UK Apprenticeship Levy paying small and medium enterprises via colleges or the Open University in Scotland (OUiS). At the same time, Levy paying organisations only were able for the first time to access non-college based skills support from other training providers via a Skills Development Scotland grant scheme, but they did not have access to the OUiS option.
In Year Six, all companies will, for the first time, be able to access upskilling support via Scotland’s colleges, OUiS, and the Skills Development Scotland grant offer on a first come, first served basis.
Levy payers will continue to be able to access support up to a value of £15,000 and non-Levy paying SMEs up to £5,000.