In September 2022, the Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, Youth Employment and Training set out to parliament that he would be initiating an independent review of the skills delivery landscape in Scotland as part of work to ensure that the skills system is fit for purpose for delivering Scotland’s national outcomes and meeting future economic challenges including the transition to net zero. James Withers was appointed as Advisor to the Review, and its scope and purpose were to explore how the public body and advisory landscape can be adapted to drive forward the Scottish Government’s outcomes and ambitions for skills. This is one of a number of reviews that will impact and work alongside the National Discussion on Scottish Education.
The CLD Standards Council took the opportunity of this review to raise and promote the lifelong learning landscape, and respond to the consultation emphasising that skills delivery is critical for all ages and stages of learning. We also wanted to highlight the role and agility of Community Learning and Development practitioners and organisations who support and offer learning opportunities to Scotland’s learners and communities all year. CLD Standards Council submitted this report in response as well as gave its members the link to the Scottish Governments Skills Delivery Independent Review: call for evidence webpage, and encouraged members to submit individual responses.