Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 84
84
Accepted
Witnesses emphasised the importance of a reliable drumbeat of work to help them recruit and...
Conclusion
Witnesses emphasised the importance of a reliable drumbeat of work to help them recruit and retain staff. City of Glasgow College called for “a clearer demand signal to trigger both the public and private sector investment needed to expand the shipbuilding workforce.”138 Hans Pung of RAND Europe agreed that “the more time [employers] have to understand what the future programme looks like, the more their opportunity should be to grow [their workforce] productively.”139
Government Response Summary
The government is addressing this challenge through the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST), which aims to develop and implement a future-focused skills strategy and publish a report of recommended actions in autumn 2023.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
29 & 30: 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.