Informed Scotland – November issue published

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November was a more upbeat month for business and the economy, a relatively quiet one for schools, and a month packed with research funding announcements and collaborative projects for higher education.

Particular recruitment challenges and skills ‘potholes’ were highlighted in sectors including finance (Skills Development Scotland’s new Skills Investment Plan for financial services), oil & gas (Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce 19th Oil and Gas Survey and STEM (UKCES’s High-Level STEM skills report). It’s interesting to see the emphasis – and language – shift away from ‘hiring’ to training, updating, upskilling and retaining employees to fill skills shortages.

Those in the schools sector will no doubt find it interesting to read in a Higher Education Academy report that ‘supporting inter-disciplinary, inter-professional and cross-sectoral learning’ is a new idea for universities. Though one of our readers was surprised, commenting that some lecturers ‘had a better grasp of Curriculum for Excellence than the schools, albeit [they] thought it was just common sense and did not have a fancy title for it’!

And finally – is Aberdeen City Council training Directors of Education? Two senior Aberdeen figures have recently been appointed to head up other authorities’ services…

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