Skills Debate: Government must listen to employers

Scottish Conservatives are calling on the Scottish Government to listen to employers when it comes to equipping the workforce of the future.

Speaking in the Skills Debate today, Liz Smith MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning, said:

"A great deal more has to be done to ensure that the supply of skills matches what employers demand. Not only do we need to be a fundamental change in the way that we talk about vocational and academic qualifications so that one is not thought to be ‘better' than the other, but we need a much more imaginative approach to fully engage employers in setting the agenda for the future.

"It is employers rather than government who know which jobs will be in demand in the future and which skills will be required in that process. Their voice is crucial and so we need a formal and regular mechanism by which it can heard. So far, that element has been sadly missing from the Scottish Government's approach."

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