Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 80
80
Accepted
A number of contributors to our inquiry highlighted that shipbuilding is an industry that requires...
Conclusion
A number of contributors to our inquiry highlighted that shipbuilding is an industry that requires a highly trained and specialised workforce.127 This is particularly true in the warship industry because warships are built to more demanding specifications: they must be built to withstand combat, and they incorporate a number of specialised systems to support military operations. These ships therefore demand an even more highly skilled workforce. Currently much of the UK’s knowledge and expertise in this area is based in Scotland.128
Government Response Summary
The UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST) seeks to address this challenge by collaborating across Government, the Devolved Administrations, industry and training providers to develop and implement a future-focussed skills strategy, with a report of recommended actions expected in autumn 2023.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST) seeks to address this challenge by collaborating across Government, the Devolved Administrations, industry and training providers to develop and implement a future-focussed skills strategy. The UKSST includes representatives from both Skills Development Scotland and Scottish industry. The UKSST is overseen by the Department for Education (DfE), with close support from the NSO. The UKSST will work to build a picture of industry’s skills needs and provide solutions to skills shortages, particularly those relating to new and emerging technologies. It intends to publish a report of recommended actions in autumn 2023 in pursuit of the policy goals outlined in the NSbS Refresh, principally to reduce skills shortfalls and to increase reported improvements in the quality and availability of skills.