Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 91
91
Acknowledged
The creation of the UKSST was widely welcomed by contributors to our inquiry.152 John Howie...
Conclusion
The creation of the UKSST was widely welcomed by contributors to our inquiry.152 John Howie of Babcock described it as “a key example of…the longer term planning that is needed to ensure that we generate the next generation of the workforce, and that we 144 Professor John Louth (DIS0028) 145 Department for Education, Terms of reference for the UK shipbuilding skills taskforce, August 2022; City of Glasgow College (DIS0035) 146 National Shipbuilding Office, National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, CP 605, 10 March 2022, p.66 147 National Shipbuilding Office, National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, CP 605, 10 March 2022, p.66 148 Department for Education, Terms of reference for the UK shipbuilding skills taskforce, August 2022 149 National Shipbuilding Office, National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, CP 605, 10 March 2022, p.13 150 Professor Trevor Taylor, RUSI (DIS0033) 151 Department for Education, Terms of reference for the UK shipbuilding skills taskforce, August 2022 152 Q26; ADS Group Ltd (DIS0024); Society of Maritime Industries (DIS0027) Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding 33 don’t just plug gaps today.153 City of Glasgow College welcomed the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh’s “lucid appreciation of the pivotal importance of skills” and the creation of the Taskforce.154
Government Response Summary
The NSO agrees that workforce planning by the UKSST is essential, and that the 30 Year Cross-Government shipbuilding pipeline provides transparency to plan and manage its workforce, and encourages investment in skills; the Chair of the UKSST would be pleased to meet with the Committee following publication of its report.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The creation of the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST) shows a welcome recognition of the importance of long-term workforce planning in shipbuilding. This kind of planning is essential if Scottish yards are to have the highly-skilled workers they need to thrive in the future. We look forward to the publication of the Taskforce’s report in September 2023. (Paragraph 93) 32. We invite the UK Shipbuilding Taskforce, together with UK Government Ministers, to give oral evidence to the Committee when the UKSST’s report is published in autumn 2023, so that its findings can be discussed further and priorities identified to ensure Scottish shipyards have the skills they need. (Paragraph 94) 31 & 32: One of the most critical enablers of a thriving UK shipbuilding enterprise will be a highly skilled and motivated workforce. The NSO therefore wholeheartedly agrees that the workforce planning being undertaken by the UKSST will be essential. Additionally, the 30 Year Cross-Government shipbuilding pipeline set out in the NSbS Refresh seeks to provide industry with increased transparency to plan and manage its workforce, and to encourage investment in skills over the long term. Specific to workforce planning for Scottish shipyards, the NSO also recognise the shared ambitions between the work of the UKSST and Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET). NSET seeks to provide the skills for modern advanced manufacturing: namely, to shape skills provision to meet industry needs, and to support and incentivise industry to invest in skills and training so that they have a talented pool of people from which they can draw. The Chair of the UKSST, with support from Government, would be pleased to meet with the Committee following publication of its report.