This report was published in October 2010.
“The Scottish Government has made clear that increasing sustainable economic growth with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish is our Purpose. Scotland’s greatest asset in realising this Purpose is its people. Skills alone do not hold the key to fully maximising economic performance. It is accepted, however, that a skilled and educated workforce is essential to improving productivity and sustainable economic growth. Developing a highly skilled workforce that matches the needs of successful and growing businesses and ensuring that these skills are applied effectively is a priority.
In 2007 Skills for Scotland – A Lifelong Skills Strategy was published and set out the ambitions for the development and better use of skills across three strategic themes: focus on individual development; response to the needs of the economy and demands of employers; and the creation of cohesive structures. These ambitions and the objectives which underpin them hold true today – a smarter Scotland with more and better employment opportunities remains at the heart of everything we want to achieve.
This refreshed strategy represents a statement of how policies on skills and training will be developed within the new and highly challenging economic environment that Scotland faces. It supplements rather than replaces Skills for Scotland – recognising progress and the achievements made since 2007 but placing a renewed focus and flexibility around the skills required to accelerate economic recovery and to sustain a growing, successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish.”
