Additional £10m for skills training

Scotland’s Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, Jamie Hepburn has launched year three of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) with a further £10 million investment.

Eligible employers can use the FWDF to address priority skills gaps in their organisation by accessing up to £15k in funding to create tailored training programmes with their local college.

College Case Studies.                     

Mr Hepburn said:

“As a Government we are working hard to ensure our economy, employers and employees are fit and ready to respond to the changing needs of business and emerging economic demands. We are committed to creating a more successful country and opportunities for people living in Scotland whilst creating sustainable and inclusive growth.

“I am delighted to launch year three of our innovative and unique Flexible Workforce Development Fund – investing a further £10m. The fund is an important initiative to enable Scottish employers, who are subject to the UK Apprenticeship Levy, to access funding to upskill and re-skill their existing workforce.”

SFC Chief Executive, Karen Watt, said:

“This fund has a strong track record of benefitting employers, employees and colleges alike. It is fantastic to see further investment going in to helping Scotland address its skills gaps, and we strongly encourage employers to look into how they could take advantage of this opportunity.”

Colleges Scotland Chief Executive Shona Struthers said:

“It’s terrific news that colleges will continue to exclusively administer and deliver the £10 million Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) in its third year. This programme is forging closer relationships between colleges and levy-paying employers, which is hugely beneficial to the learners, businesses, and colleges.
 
“The training and development colleges are providing through FWDF is hugely important in upskilling and retraining existing workforces and filling identified skills gaps. The Fund is also equipping learners to keep pace with emerging technologies and changing markets, so it has been an immensely positive development for the college sector in Scotland, and the increase in uptake in Year 2 compared to the first year, outlines its growing significance.”

For more information, including a list of college contacts for interested applicants, please see SFC’s Flexible Workforce Development Fund page.