Skills Development Scotland Annual Update
Argyll and Bute Council · 4 September 2024
Back to Mid Argyll, Kintyre & the Islands Area Committee — 4 September 2024 and its agenda
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Skills Development Scotland Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee Annual Update 4th September 2024
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Service Delivery in Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands School Service Offer Campbeltown Grammar, Islay High School, Lochgilphead Joint Campus and Tarbert Academy Our careers advisers work delivering career guidance to enable young people from S1-S6 to develop their Career Management Skills via a range of group work and 1-1 coaching conversations. We work closely with our partners within the school to identify young people who are considered most at risk of not making a positive progression from school. Helping those young people to develop their career management skills and move onto education, employment, or training when they leave school. For more information click this link What We Do - Scotland’s Career Service Update School Leaver Destinations Follow Up • Over the school holidays we currently contacting all school leavers Campbeltown Grammar, Islay High School, Lochgilphead Joint Campus and Tarbert Academy (approx.178 pupils) to ensure that they have secured a positive destination post leaving school and offer support to any that haven’t. • These results will be published by the Scottish Government sometime in the new year. • Please click here to see last year’s results. Scottish Government School Leaver Destinations 22-23 Exam Results Helpline 2024 As Scottish learners in received their results on Tuesday 6th August, Skills Development Scotland’s Results Helpline was there to offer information, advice and guidance to Scotland’s young people and their parents and carers. Early reports on response to the Results Helpline has reinforced the vital support the SDS service offers to young people and their families across the country. As soon as the helpline opened at 8am on Tuesday, advisers across the regions were busy taking calls on a range of issues, including the appeals process, Confirmation and Clearing, and help with options on the back of Highers and Nationals results. First Minister, John Swinney was quick to post a message of support, highlighting the Results Helpline as a support service for candidates. Education Secretary, Jenny Gilruth and Minister for Higher and Further Education, Graeme Dey also promoted the helpline on social media. The Contact Centre team that manages the helpline were also quick to respond to the issue with blank e- mails to learners from SQA by putting in place signposting to the SQA candidate advice line until the problem was resolved. Latest statistics from the Helpline team show that, by the time of closure at 8pm on the first day, numbers of calls had gone up by 17% versus last year. On trend with previous years, the majority of calls were from candidates whilst a third were from parents/carers. Following the ministerial photocall on Monday, there has been nationwide media coverage and CIAG colleagues have continued to support the effort to drive awareness of the helpline. Helpline manager Ruth Scott and a number of advisers have been sharing their guidance and tips on our own social channels and national and regional print and broadcast media, including STV news, BBC Radio 1, BBC Reporting Scotland and Heart FM.
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Here's a snapshot of some of the coverage achieved to date..... • Listen to BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland news and also listen to Erin Bartley at 1.14 • Listen to Ruth Scott on BBC Radio Scotland Drivetime from 38.30 • Watch Ruth on The Nine from 07.25 • Listen to Erin on Radio 1 Newsbeat at 09.30 • Watch a Sun online interview with Gina Kelly • Read about Jen Whelan helping her daughter Olivia in the Daily Record • When Louise met Maxine - video on My World of Work social media Post School Service Offer Our Next Steps service supports young people aged 16 – 18 (extended to 26 for care experienced young people) who are unemployed, helping them to build up their career management skills and move on to and sustain a range of options as appropriate. We also offer a service to any adult who wishes to develop their career management and employability skills and move into employment or support a career change. Individuals can access help at our local centres at the following locations. Campbeltown, 40 Hall Street, PA28 6BU (based within JobCentre Plus). Please contact 01586 552795 for an appointment. Islay, Islay High School, Flora Street, Bowmore, PA43 7JY. Please contact 01496 545 990 for an appointment. We also can offer virtual and telephone support if required. PACE: Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) PACE is the Scottish Government’s initiative dedicated to responding to redundancy situations. Through providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time individuals affected by redundancy are out of work. PACE brings together 24 organisations, together with the Scottish Government to provide free and impartial advice, guidance and support for individuals affected by redundancy. Our PACE activity is co-ordinated by our Chair Pamela Little. Update • In the current quarter of the financial year, we have had limited PACE activity. However we have offered and delivered PACE support to employees at Ardnahoe Distillery Café and Menzies Parcels. Please contact pacenationalteam@sds.co.uk for any further information
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Annual Participation Measure The Annual Participation Measure (APM) reports on the education and employment activity of 16 to 19 year olds in Scotland. It is the source of the Scottish government's national performance indicator “Percentage of young adults 16 to 19 year olds participating in education, training or employment”. The APM method takes account of all status of 16- to 19-year-olds in Scotland over one calendar year from the 1st of April to the 31st of March. We report on if they are participating, not participating and unconfirmed is based on which status an individual spent to the greatest numbers of days within the year. See below the Annual Participation Measure from 2023 Update • The 2024 Annual Participation Measure if due to be published on 31st August. • This link will take you to the where the information will be published Link to Annual Participation Measure
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Local Partnership Support SDS local teams are involved in supporting the following partnerships. • DYW – supporting our DYW colleagues with employer events in schools. • Local Employability Partnership - member of the LEP • Corporate Parent responsibilities – supporting Corporate Parent Board and working closely with the Through Care Forums • CLD – supporting CLD Partnership Board • Community Justice – member of Community Justice Board Skills Development Scotland - General Update Skills Reform SDS has long been an advocate for changes to the learning and skills system to deliver the best results for the people and businesses of Scotland. SDS is working constructively with Scottish Government and partners to realise this ambition. The need for the services delivered by SDS has never been greater. As we look to the future, enabling the people and businesses of Scotland to thrive in a highly disruptive and uncertain world will be essential to Scotland’s future economic growth and prosperity. The Scottish Government’s Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape and the Purpose and Principles on Post-school Education, Research and Skills set out a framework for changes in how these services are delivered. The Scottish Government launched a public consultation into options for the reform of Scotland’s post- school education system on 2 July. The consultation focusses on the areas of funding and provision of apprenticeships and the funding of learner support, and will remain open until 20 September 2024 Apprenticeship funding SDS administers Modern Apprenticeship (MA) funds on behalf of the Scottish Government, and funds independent learning and Local Authority providers of Foundation Apprenticeships. FA provision led by colleges and Graduate Apprenticeships are funded by the Scottish Funding Council. For more info on Foundation Apprenticeships statistics click here. For more info on Graduate Apprenticeship statistics click here SDS continues its work with learning providers to maximise MA and FA starts within our available budget in 2024/25, and in line with previous years. SDS contributes to the costs of training and assessing Modern Apprentices. The level of our contribution depends on the age of the apprentice, the qualification level, and the industry sector. We make enhanced contributions for disabled and care-experienced apprentices up to and including age 29 The Modern Apprenticeship (MA) statistics for 2023-24 have been published on the SDS corporate website. Modern Apprenticeships statistics for 2023 -24 There were 25,365 MA starts created in 2023/24, with 38,607 MAs in training at the end of the financial year. In Argyll & Bute from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 we supported 387 Modern Apprenticeship starts. 62.5% of the starts in the local area were aged 16-24. • 23.5% of MA starts resided in the 20% most deprived areas, compared to 13.8% from the 20% least deprived areas.
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MA achievement rate increased across all age groups year on year at 76%, with more completing an apprenticeship at higher SCQF levels (76.3% at SCQF L6 and above). The Modern Apprenticeship achievement rate in Argyll & Bute is 74.3%. Individual Training Account (ITA) funding The Scottish Government (SG) have confirmed that funding for Individual Training Accounts will not be available in the SDS budget in 2024/25. In the context of unprecedented pressures on the SG and SDS budget, Ministers have asked SDS to maximise apprenticeship starts in 2024/25. Individuals looking for training opportunities and funding can continue to contact SDS for advice on available options and access SDS career information, advice and guidance services. My World of Work also offers access to a wide range of online learning including free courses. Individuals who successfully applied to the scheme in 2023/24 and have not yet used their funding can still do so until the end of their learner year – 12 months from the approval date of their funding. Flexible Workforce Development Fund and the Apprenticeship Levy The Scottish Government made no funding available for the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) for the academic years 2023-24 and 2024-25, in the Scottish Budget 2024-25 announcement. This is a Scottish Government decision and SDS is therefore unable to comment or advise. The Apprenticeship Levy is a UK Government employment tax affecting all UK employers with annual salary bills exceeding £3 million. The levy is collected by HM Revenue and Customs. HM Treasury allocates funding to the Scottish Government through the block grant, and the SG do not receive a separate allocation through the levy. The Scottish Government determines how the funding is spent and so any queries should be directed to the Scottish Government. A recent SG response to the Economy and Fair Work Committee includes detail on levy funding in the annex, section 9. Young People’s and Parents Research The Pupil Voice 2023 research gathers input from senior phase pupils (S4-S6) in Scotland on CIAG services, Foundation Apprenticeships, and the My World of Work web service. Young People Career Ambitions (YPCA) provides insights on the career choices, influences and motivations of school leavers across Scotland. Young People in Scotland, conducted in partnership with Ipsos, explores the views of young people aged 11-18 years, specifically focusing on their plans after school, key influencers and their views and perceptions of careers. Parent and Carers Research provides insight on parents’ perceptions and attitudes towards work-based learning, as well as knowledge of CIAG services and confidence having career conversations with their child. The results from these research projects are shared across SDS to help shape and improve service delivery, and with our government colleagues to inform their evidence base and policy development. The outputs are also available on the SDS corporate website
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Scottish Apprenticeship Week Many thanks to all stakeholders who made another successful Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2024 possible, with over 140 registered partner events taking place across the country. The annual campaign celebrating apprenticeships will return next year, 3-7 March 2025. Scottish Careers Week Our annual campaign delivered with a wide range of partners who support people in Scotland to make informed career choices. Save the dates! Now in its 4th year, it will run from 11-15 November 2024! Employer Support Skills Development Scotland works directly with employers across Scotland, providing trusted advice that helps employers invest in existing skills, develop new talent using equal and inclusive recruitment, and get the right products to grow their business. We have a series of employer webinars which are free to join or watch back covering a range of themes around skills, recruitment, retention and workforce development. Skills for Growth is a free service for SMEs between 5 – 250 employees from any sector or location in Scotland Find out more at our employer hub SDS Employer Hub or contacting us on 0800 783 6000 Local contact Susan MacRae Area Manager Argyll & Bute and Eilean Siar susan.macrae@sds.co.uk Further information skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk - Corporate Website myworldofwork.co.uk - for all your work, skills and learning needs apprenticeships.scot - for all the latest on apprenticeships