Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee

Recommendation 89

89 Acknowledged

The National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh recognised the importance of skills as an issue, and in...

Conclusion
The National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh recognised the importance of skills as an issue, and in response announced the establishment of a UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST). The Taskforce is run by the Department for Education, working with the National Shipbuilding Office.146 The Taskforce’s role is to “build a picture of industry’s skills needs and provide solutions to skills shortages, particularly those related to new and emerging technologies.”147 The UKSST has initially been tasked with building a picture of the skills needs and barriers within the shipbuilding industry; the Taskforce will then prepare a Shipbuilding Skills Strategy by 2023, which will include recommendations to help the UK shipbuilding sector meet its skills requirements, before taking steps to begin implementing those recommendations.148
Government Response Summary
The government states that the scope of the UKSST aligns with the NSbS Refresh and will consider the skills requirements for the entirety of the shipbuilding enterprise, as well as the impact of technological innovation.
Government Response Acknowledged
HM Government Acknowledged
33 & 34: The scope of the UKSST aligns with the NSbS Refresh and it will therefore consider the skills requirements and know-how for the entirety of the shipbuilding enterprise, including the warship, commercial, workboat and leisure market sectors, both in the short and long term. The UKSST will also consider the impact of technological innovation on these sectors, including naval shipbuilding, by progressing skills foresighting in key areas of technological advancements in order for the industry to better understand how they to respond to that technological change.