Ideas for John Swinney: Where is there a Scottish skills gap and how would you fill it?

We asked a panel of experts: where is there a particular Scottish skills gap and how would you fill it?

From methods of boosting apprenticeships to networking, here is what they said...

Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland Secretary
The skills of industry, of manufacturing and engineering, are like a muscle. Use it or lose it. After 50 years of atrophy, it is beyond time for Scotland to flex again.

Our skills shortfall is broad and deep (The Fraser of Allander Institute needed 19 pages to sketch its outlines last year) and more young Scots must become expert today in how to build things tomorrow, from ships and houses to vaccines and firewalls.

First, before that, our policymakers must learn a new skill, or relearn an old one. They must learn how to make a plan. Let’s call it an industrial strategy. Other countries had them – still do – as the UK, frozen in the glare of globalisation, spent decades sending our contracts and jobs around the world.

Well, that world is changing, almost by the day, and ignoring the social, economic and security benefits of a strong industrial base is no longer a strategy, as if it ever was, but an abdication of responsibility.

Colin Borland, director of devolved Nations, Federation of Small Businesses
The importance of soft skills is often overlooked – until the moment they’re missing. We all love that IT manager with a knack for solving problems and the friendly, attentive staff in the local café – and we notice when they’re not there.

That these soft skills are in short supply is not in doubt. At FSB, we recently asked Scotland’s small business owners about the biggest skills gaps they face. And skills such as teamwork, communication, time-management and customer service abilities were among the top answers. 

Around one in five of Scotland’s small businesses see these skills shortages as a significant issue. That must be holding back our ability to grow the economy. The good news is there are things we can do about it. Soft skills can be taught just like any other. And we can start by mandating units on essential workplace skills in apprenticeships and further and higher education courses. 

Dr Marie Macklin, businesswoman
We need a whole new approach to skills training in Scotland. For too long vocational skills have been the poor relation of academic qualifications, with the latter prioritised to a huge extent. 
That has seen a generational shift, leaving us with gaps in key skills – and an imbalance with many degree-holders struggling to find jobs commensurate with their qualifications – which now must be addressed. 

In my view, that should see skills training and apprenticeships offered within the school curriculum, not just in the senior phase but at S3 and S4 level, to deliver a seamless transition between education, hands-on learning and the world of work. If we do that, it has the capacity to transform not just our skills base but also our economy for the long-term. It can help deliver highly-skilled, well-paid blue-collar jobs which underpin a new era of reindustrialisation and community renewal which is so badly needed.    

Professor Mairi Spowage, director, Fraser of Allander Institute
The UK and Scottish governments are both in a hunt for growth. The UK Industrial Strategy, for example, set out the opportunities from the energy transition, defence and advanced manufacturing, paired with ambitions for huge housebuilding programmes. What do all these have in common? A suitable supply of labour in construction roles, including buildings, infrastructure, fabrication and finishing.

Firms that support this activity need a settled pipeline of infrastructure investment projects to invest in their skills academies and apprenticeships, so a clear thing government can do is set out their infrastructure plans on a multi-year basis. Three times as many apprenticeships compared to now will be required to deliver the supply of workers that will be needed. Building up construction skills to deliver economic growth in key sectors has to go hand in hand with supporting the part of the skills system that delivers this training: the college sector.

David McNeill, strategic director of development, SCVO
I’m sure some industries struggle to recruit people with specific technical skills. But what I see more often are experience gaps. People can be well educated yet lack the qualities that make someone a great employee: curiosity, communication, teamwork and adaptability. You’re far more likely to pick those up working part-time in a supermarket, or doing a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, than you are in a lecture theatre.

In Scotland, we seem obsessed with qualifications, especially steering young people towards university. That’s fine for some, but many of the most skilled people I work with don’t have a degree. What they do have is drive – to keep learning, to try new things, to adapt. That’s the real skills gap. We need to value those qualities and back employers who nurture learning in all its forms. Until then, we’ll keep confusing qualifications with skills.

Professor Chris Carter, University of Edinburgh Business School
While Scotland’s problems are well known, the solutions are often far less developed. Currently, Scotland suffers from sclerotic economic growth, high levels of inequality, and a poor record in policy delivery. 

The skills agenda is crucial both to the future performance of the economy, policy delivery and the construction of vibrant and resilient communities. With this in mind, I focus attention on how people and communities build social capital. By this, I refer to how people build networks within their community, across communities, and ultimately bring people together. 

The importance of social capital to people, organisations and communities is well established. Indeed, collaboration across boundaries has ameliorated many of Scotland’s problems in the past. I argue that we shouldn’t leave it to chance but should actively nurture and develop people’s skills in building social capital. The advantages will be many. It allows people and communities to thrive through building trust, providing access to cutting-edge knowledge, and creating opportunities. It celebrates skills of compromise, enquiry, influencing others, consensus building, empathy and problem-solving abilities. 

A Scotland that is richer in social capital will build stronger and more resilient communities. In turn, it will build stronger international relationships.   

Dr Paul GK Little, principal and CEO, City of Glasgow College
City of Glasgow College is a next generation polytechnic, intentionally hardwired into 30 major industry sectors and 200 sub sectors. It therefore maintains a proactive strategic vigilance of chronic and acute skills gaps and skills demand. 

Our £100m maritime and STEM campus is globally recognised for specialist courses in nautical science, marine engineering, navigation, global trade and maritime safety.

With such state-of-the-art facilities we work in a long-term symbiotic partnership with all the major global shipping companies including Maersk, MSC, Carnival, Stena, Disney Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Royal Navy, UK Chamber of Shipping and the Merchant Navy Training Board to ensure that our training meets (and where possible anticipates) skill needs. 

Forward leaning, we recently invested £2.5m in cutting-edge immersive simulation technology with our industry partner Wärtsilä to develop one of the most advanced shipping simulator hubs anywhere. In addition, our Future Skills Engineering programmes equip students in mechanical, electrical, civil, and renewable energy disciplines, high voltage and offshore wind to close Scotland’s skills gap in energy critical industries.

Dr Natalie Coull, head of the department of Cybersecurity and Computing, Abertay University
The UK’s seen a real shift this year, with a number of targeted cyber-attacks having a significant impact on UK-based businesses including M&S, the Co-op, and Jaguar Land Rover. Hacking groups have moved from defacing websites to orchestrating calculated strikes on major, interconnected organisations and recovering from these has proved significantly challenging and costly. 

This is Scotland’s wake-up call: cybersecurity isn’t just for the geeks in hoodies; it’s everyone’s business now.

The biggest Scottish skills gap isn’t technical know-how, it’s resilience. We need people who can recognise when something’s off, think critically under pressure, and understand that a deceptive attack might look perfectly normal until it’s too late.

Scotland’s businesses need to go beyond box-ticking phishing training. Cybersecurity must be part of how an organisation thinks and operates every day, from the boardroom to the shop floor. True resilience means expecting the unexpected and being ready to keep the lights on when things go wrong.