A qualification earned at 21 may be out of date by 35. Scottish education must change – Alyn Smith
The world of work is changing rapidly and so too must our approach to learning, writes tertiary education minister Alyn Smith
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When I qualified as a solicitor in the mid-1990s, the world was a profoundly different place from today. The internet was in its infancy, mobile phones were years away from becoming smart, and generative AI was considered science fiction.
The huge technological advances that have taken place since have all underpinned a wider change in the world of work. Where my peers at university could expect to qualify, then work until retirement, today the pace of change has become so fast that for workers in many sectors their careers are likely to follow a more varied path.
Ask employers what skills they need and you will get an answer from many that would have been unrecognisable a decade ago. Artificial intelligence is reshaping entire sectors. The renewable energy industry, so central to Scotland's economic future, did not exist in its current form when many of today's workers left school. The pace of change in data, digital services, and advanced manufacturing is such that a qualification earned at 21 could be out of date by 35.
Lifelong learning
To meet that accelerated pace, we need to change our approach to skills and training. Although the model of train, work, retire will still hold in some sectors, others will need a system of lifelong learning, offering more flexible and shorter training opportunities people can access to deal with changes throughout their working lives.
As Scotland’s new minister for innovation, technology and tertiary education, this is the change I will be working to bring about. It will involve changing how we plan for the skills Scotland needs, how colleges are structured to deliver them, and how we help businesses and workers harness the opportunities that AI presents.
The Scottish Government is already building the foundations of this new approach. Through the development of a new skills planning model, we are strengthening our ability to identify Scotland's strategic skills priorities and work with partners to ensure the post-school education and skills system can respond effectively. Our ambition is to provide a clear strategic framework – via a National Skills Plan, to be delivered by spring 2027 – to ensure post-school education and training becomes more aligned to those priorities.
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Of course, we’re aware of the challenges facing the college sector, and recognise they need support to adapt to this new approach. That’s why we're working on a broader redesign of colleges to ensure they can be more sustainable and resilient through the College Sector of the Future initiative, delivered in collaboration with Colleges Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council.
Universities are another important part of this picture, with some already offering micro-credentials – short, focused courses that help people learn new skills – and the Future Framework review into university funding well underway, delivered with Universities Scotland.
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Harnessing the power of AI
Apprenticeships too are a core part of this mission, helping people develop valuable skills while enabling employers to build the workforce they need and driving sustainable growth. We’re funding at least 150,000 apprenticeship opportunities over this parliamentary term and introducing a new Apprenticeship Accelerator Grant to support employers to invest in skills and create opportunities.
Through the Tertiary Education and Training Act, we’re bringing responsibility and funding for all apprenticeships together within the Scottish Funding Council from April 2027, and for the first time, apprenticeships will be placed on a statutory footing, underlining their central role in Scotland's future economy.
Central to this changing world of work, of course, is harnessing the power of AI. One thing most people agree on is that AI will have a transformative effect on the workplace and people's future jobs. Where there is less agreement is on the extent of this impact and the speed at which it will happen. We know AI has potential applications in every economic sector and that its capabilities are growing rapidly, yet evidence suggests that around 60 per cent of Scottish SMEs are not using AI technologies.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as AI may not be the solution to every problem an employer faces. But if we are to harness its potential – responsibly and in the right way – to boost our economy and drive growth, we need to address the leadership, people and management challenges businesses face as much as we need to prepare them to take advantage of AI's technological opportunities.
That’s why, as part of our flagship AI Scotland programme, we have launched the latest version of our national AI Adoption Programme for SMEs, delivered by a consortium of partners including our enterprise agencies, the Data Lab and Business Gateway, backed by £1.8 million.
Not about lower standards
We also need a clearer picture of the effects AI is having in workplaces around Scotland, so we know what skills will be needed and can target our efforts to where they can be most effective. To that end, through our new AI Strategy, we will establish a Future Jobs Panel – a group of experts drawn from academia, the workforce and business who will help us assess the available evidence and advise on how we can monitor and track these effects in the years to come.
I intend to announce the chair and membership of this panel very soon, and am grateful to those who have been involved in discussions to date.
None of this is about lowering standards or offering something lesser than a traditional qualification. It’s about recognising that the world I qualified into no longer exists, and that our approach to skills education, our colleges and our strategy for AI adoption must all evolve together if people are to keep pace with a world of work that will keep changing long after they have left the classroom. That is the task ahead, and it is one I am determined to get right.
Alyn Smith MSP is minister for innovation, technology and tertiary education
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