Current status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly removed funding for upskilling and reskilling Scotland's workforce in its Budget 2024-25; what assessment it has undertaken of any impact of this on (a) equalities and (b) the future economy, and whether it has any plans to reintroduce any such funding in the remainder of the current parliamentary session.
Despite facing the most challenging fiscal position since devolution, the 2024-25 Budget allocates around £2bn to both colleges and universities – supporting their delivery of high-quality education, training and research.
In this challenging fiscal environment, decisions have been made regarding specific individual funds, in the current and previous financial years, including the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) and the Scottish Funding Council’s Upskilling Fund. These decisions were not taken lightly but aimed to minimise the impact on frontline allocations for learning, teaching, and support for students.
Colleges and universities can continue to deliver short courses to meet employer and business needs including those developed using FWDF and Upskilling Fund resources. Across all funded delivery, we fully expect that they will continue to prioritise actions to address inequality. Despite the ongoing fiscal challenges, the Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring equalities underpin all our work.
In taking forward our long term plans for reform of post-school education, a priority will be the need for accessible, high quality learning which meets our economic, environmental and social needs and ambitions.