The voice of the training sector in 28 May 2021

Member Meeting – Friday 11 June 2021 MA and EF statistics published

The next STF Member Meeting Skills Development Scotland has published Modern will be held on Friday 11 June Apprenticeship (MA) and Employability Fund (EF) from 1.00-2.00pm. The statistics for Quarter 4, 2020-21. meeting will be held on the Teams platform. Members who wish to attend should email Following a very slow start, there has been a degree of Stuart McKenna to request recovery in terms of EF uptake, with the total number an invitation. of EF starts this year at around 91% of last year’s figure.

STF Care Forum - The end of year MA start figure for 2020-21 was Thursday 3 June 2021 18,655, compared to 27,875 in 2019-20, representing 67% of last year's figure. More details. The next meeting of the STF Care Forum will be held on Thursday 3 June 2021 from New Scottish Cabinet confirmed 1.00-2.00. Members who would like to attend and have not yet received an invitation should First Minister has completed appointments to contact Lynsay Bryce. her new ministerial team. Consisting of 10 Cabinet Secretaries, including the First Minister, the Scottish Cabinet will be supported by 15 Junior Ministers. Update for MA Specification and FAQs Of particular interest to STF members are the following appointments: Skills Development Scotland has updated two key Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Shirley-Anne documents for contractors of Modern Apprenticeships: Somerville MA Programme Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Specification 21-22 Youth Employment and Training, MA Programme FAQs. Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work, Richard Lochhead Members are encouraged to check both documents for any changes which may impact on Apprentice Employer Grant statistics their delivery. More details.

Skills Development Scotland has published statistics New Chair for SAAB relating to the Apprentice Employer Grant (AEG). group Demand for the AEG exceeded expectations with 2,330 Professor Steve Petrie, Business employers in receipt of the grant – and 3,853 Modern Performance Director at Balfour Apprenticeship starts (and 23 Graduate Apprenticeship Beatty is the new Chair of the starts). Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board’s Standards and Applications for the AEG were open between 1st Frameworks Group. More December 2020 and 25th March 2021.More details. details.

Web: www.stf.org.uk Email: [email protected] Tel: 07446 870 597 Twitter: @stfscotland 2 Employability Survey – May 2021 Scottish Employer Skills Survey results The has confirmed that the Employability Fund will end on 31 March 2022, with employability programme delivery being transferred to local authorities. The Scottish Government Chief Statistician has STF is continuing to gather feedback from its members on the potential impact this transfer published results from the Scottish Employer Skills Survey will have on their business and future staffing levels. Many thanks to those members who 2020. completed the survey issued in April.

The Scottish Employer Skills An updated survey has now been produced – and all STF members who currently deliver the Survey (ESS) 2020 is a large- Employability Fund are encouraged to complete this. scale telephone survey of 3,497 employers in Scotland. The survey link is: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/nolb2 More details.

Auto invitations to Member Information Member Meetings STF will shortly be writing to all members to check that the contact information we hold Members who would like to is accurate and up to date. We are also taking this opportunity to seek additional receive an automatic invitation to Member Update Meetings information from members on the programmes they deliver and the occupational on Teams can now request sectors they operate in. This additional information will help us to more effectively this service. tailor the service offered to each member.

Meetings are normally held every second Friday from 1.00- IWiL (Inspiring Women in Leadership) 2.00. Members who request to be added to this mailing list will mentoring programme remain on it until they advise they would like to be removed. STF members may be interested to hear about an opportunity Please email that is available through IWiL (Inspiring Women in Leadership) [email protected] to mentoring programme. IWiL is a 12 month programme which request this service. brings together a group of visionary and courageous leaders who wish to share their experiences and connect with women Welcome to new of all ages. members

Welcome to the following new The programme will provide mentees with an opportunity member who has joined the to benefit from the experiences of their mentor who will federation in the last few support them to navigate the adversities and challenges weeks: they may face and inspire them to develop their infinite potential and have the ambition to become the leader St Andrews they wish to be. More details. Management Centre Ltd

STF currently has 141 members across Scotland. Apprenticeship Archive

Job Vacancies In the Apprenticeship Archive section of the STF web site, Job vacancies are available from you can take a trip down memory lane to see what was the following members: happening in the apprenticeship world in days gone by. Training Matters Rewards Training In issue 24 of MA Bulletin, dated June 2000, Scottish Enterprise McCrae Training Lanarkshire records its 2000th Apprentice, Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire records its 1000th Apprentice - and in the FAQs there More details on the STF web site. are two questions about core skills; in 2000, there were seven core skills!