Foreword

Global megatrends, such as automation, digitalisation, the green transition and population ageing, are bringing about structural changes in labour markets around the world. These changes have an impact on skills demand and supply. Apprenticeships can play a key role in responding to changing labour market needs by equipping young people and adults with the right skills.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected education systems around the world, with apprenticeships being particularly impacted due to the difficulty of accessing workplaces and organising practical learning online or in classrooms, under strict health and safety regulations. Moreover, the resulting economic downturn has limited the capacity of employers to provide work-based learning opportunities. Innovative solutions are needed to ensure that apprenticeship systems continue to deliver high-quality relevant training. The COVID-19 crisis has underlined the benefits and opportunities of the use of digital technologies in apprenticeships, but also brought some key challenges to light. At the same time, apprenticeship systems have a crucial role to play in the recovery by providing workers and jobseekers with relevant training opportunities and by developing the right skills for the future.

All these changes highlight the need for resilient apprenticeship systems. This is also the case in Scotland (United Kingdom) where structural changes in the labour market and associated changing skill needs highlight the need for a strong apprenticeship system. The system will need support to continue to provide high-quality learning opportunities and to foster innovation that could increase its efficiency, quality and attractiveness. In an era of changing skill needs, the role of employers is more crucial than ever before. Apprenticeships can and should be a valuable learning path for a diverse group of learners, but sufficient support is needed to make apprenticeship accessible for all.

This report aims to support Scotland’s efforts to strengthen its apprenticeship system, by assessing the key challenges and opportunities it faces and providing international examples and policy recommendations on how to make the system more responsive, innovative and inclusive. The report is part of the OECD Centre for Skills’ broader work on Facing the Future in vocational education and training (VET), which supports countries in building strong and resilient VET systems.

This report was drafted by Shinyoung Jeon from the OECD Centre for Skills, and Simon Field as the author of the intermediate report Strengthening Skills in Scotland, under the supervision of Marieke Vandeweyer (manager of the VET team) and El Iza Mohamedou (Head of the OECD Centre for Skills). Simon Normandeau and Rodrigo Torres offered support for stakeholder interviews. The report has benefited from comments provided by Mark Pearson (Deputy-Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs). Administrative and editorial assistance was provided by Jennifer Cannon and Duniya Dedeyn from the OECD Centre for Skills and by Sally Hinchcliffe.