March was a month of two worlds for learning & skills: before and during lockdown.
The impact of COVID-19 could have been the only Hot Topic listed on this month’s cover, however the rapid shift to online and remote learning and teaching, and the surge in the need for basic digital skills for everyone have also been paramount.
Digital skills has been the hottest topic around for many years, but tackling the challenges of digital inclusion has reached a new level of importance and urgency.
Compiling this edition presented its own challenges. How to provide subscribers with information in the most helpful format? How to keep them up to date with such fast-moving decisions? We opted to include a ‘COVID-19 response & support’ section for each sector of learning & skills and key items published or announced in April. Feedback will determine how helpful this has proved.
March wasn’t all about COVID-19 however. There were plenty of other interesting reports and developments.
Finally, I’d like to pay personal tribute to the hard work, ingenuity, generosity of spirit and collaboration of individuals and organisations right across the landscape at this time of crisis, in addition to all those who are risking their own health and lives to support others – it is both awe-inspiring and heart-warming.
For a short(ish)
month there was plenty happening, with numerous reports, strategies and
announcements across the landscape.
Three new national strategies were published: a seminal one on career education & guidance, one on culture with much to say about learning & skills, and one on the environment with surprisingly little relevant content
Scottish Parliament’s Education & Skills Committee published analysis of a survey for its inquiry into recruiting & training new teachers; and the Equalities & Human Rights Committee launched a new inquiry into racial equality, employment & skills
Education Scotland published Being me, updated national practice guidance for early years
City & Guilds’ Missing Millions on ‘the untapped potential’ of working age people in the UK
Demos’s The Learning Curve on how the UK is harnessing the potential of online learning
Jisc’s Future of Assessment on how universities and colleges could use technology to transform assessment
The Open University’s Leading in a Digital Age survey of business leaders on the impact of digital training.
Our favourite new word of the month was ‘microcredentials’ – although perhaps the term is familiar to others? Check out the new microcredentials courses on the FutureLearn website, including one for teachers on mental health in the curriculum.
School education
has been a political hot potato in the last two months, with aspects of
attainment and international comparisons in particular creating headlines and
much debate.
Meanwhile Brexit is
back as one of our hot topics, with concerns for skills shortages ramping up,
and various organisations looking to reassure or seeking reassurances.
As well as the
usual numerous statistical reports and annual reviews, other items to look out
for include:
The first Employer Perspectives Survey specific to Scotland, a rich source of detailed information on the labour market
This is the tip of the information iceberg: become an Informed Scotland subscriber so you can keep on top of all the developments. Email [email protected] to request a copy of the latest issue.
We’re delighted to present the seventh annual list of Learning & Skills ‘Hot Topics’ that made it onto the cover of Informed Scotland over the past year:
‘Digital skills’ was back as the hottest topic of 2019 – it’s the only topic to have been in the top three every year since 2013 and this is the fourth time it’s occupied the number one spot. Themes keeping it there last year included training and certification, and ongoing skills shortages and gaps.
‘Widening access’ is the second of three topics to have made every annual list. It’s also been in the top three each year since 2016 although it’s never made the number one spot. The term ‘fair access’ is also often used, with the Scottish Framework for Fair Access launched in May.
‘Diversity, equality & inclusion’ was back on the list, slipping just one place after its first appearance last year as the hottest topic, covering themes such as poverty, social mobility, disadvantage, disability, care experience and ethnicity.
‘Teacher education & development’ fell out of the top three for the first time since it joined the list in 2016, and after it shared the top spot in 2018.
Thanks in part to progress reports on Graduate and Foundation Apprenticeships, ‘Apprenticeships’ was back after only missing one year, 2018, out of seven.
‘STEM’ was the
third of three topics to have made every list since 2013, with its highest
place being second in 2016.
There were no new
topics on this year’s list, although ‘mental health & wellbeing’, ‘artificial
intelligence & automation’ and ‘additional support needs & support for
learning’ just missed out.
‘Skills shortages & gaps’ dropped out of the list for the first time ever, although we expect it to return in 2020. Despite expectations, ‘Brexit’ also just missed the top 10, although its impact is likely to have a growing influence on skills this year and beyond.
2020 is Scotland’s Year of Coast
& Waters, however judging by previous themed years we’re not expecting
to see it on next year’s list – perhaps we’ll be proved wrong…
What were your 2019 highlights? What are your predictions for 2020? Tweet us @InformedScot and we’ll share your thoughts.
Make it your New Year’s resolution to be better informed about what’s happening across learning & skills in business, schools, further & higher education, community & adult learning, and government & wider society. Contact [email protected]to receive a recent sample copy and find out how to subscribe here.
Time to reflect on another busy year for AJ Enterprises and to thank clients, collaborators, contacts and coworkers who’ve helped make 2019 a success!
We’ve kept Informed Scotland subscribers up to date with learning & skills across the landscape throughout the year. As well as the monthly digests, we published a General Election Extra earlier this month and the seventh annual Organisations & People Special in September. The latter now has links to over 380 organisations, more than twice as many as in the first edition in 2013.
Many thanks to our subscribers, both new and those who’ve been with us since 2012, for spreading the word about the benefits of being kept well informed. And thanks to Janey at Mamook for some fabulous new cover designs.
We’ve promoted hundreds more events via the Learning & Skills Events Calendar, with thanks to Larisa at Media Bloom, Sarah and Prentice for keeping it updated throughout the year.
We’ve kept a wider audience regularly updated via social media – @InformedScot now has over 4,000 followers on Twitter and over 500 on Instagram. Thanks to all our engaged followers.
I’ve once again enjoyed working with London-based associateElaine Hendry, including on a fast-paced research project for EdComs at the start of the year. Our main project continues to be the quarterly Skills Research Digest which we’ve produced for Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy since 2017 – thanks again to Nicola Laverty for being a great client!
I’ve also provided research and horizon scanning, communications, copy-writing, editing and proofreading services to repeat and new clients. In March I was a first-timer at the London Book Fair and in May I travelled with fellow Edinburgh editors to Newcastle for an excellent SfEP mini-conference. As an Advanced Professional Member of SfEP I’m looking forward to it becoming the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading in 2020!
Finally, I’ve been lucky to work alongside some lovely, talented coworkers in Evergreen Studio for another year – thanks for the comradeship and support, the German and Catalan lessons, and of course the biscuits and cakes!
The annual Informed Scotland Hottest Topics in Scottish Learning & Skills will be shared here in January – see what made the list this year – any predictions?
Email [email protected]for more information about any of the above, to subscribe to Informed Scotland, or to discuss how we could support your work in 2020.
Preparations for the General Election might have restricted some government business, but it didn’t stop the publication of a raft of reports worth highlighting on a range of topics.
a Progress Report from the Commission on the College of the Future
the third of three Learning Insights reports by Kineo on the global race for employers to upskill their workforce
and two reports on progress, or the lack of it, in tackling gender imbalance – the final report of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce and the annual Women in Engineering statistics from the National Centre for Education & Business.
In January we’ll be taking our annual stocktake of Learning & Skills ‘Hottest Topics’ from Informed Scotland covers in 2019. This month Curriculum for Excellence was back on the cover for the first time since July/August 2016, after a critical research report by Prof Jim Scott created media and political headlines and sparked a ‘rancorous’ debate. With more headlines being generated on attainment, plus published analysis and new research underway at the University of Stirling, we suspect the topic will be ‘hot’ for a while yet.
This is the tip of the information iceberg: become an Informed Scotland subscriber so you can keep on top of all the developments.
Email [email protected] to request a sample copy.
Ahead of each major election we provide Informed Scotland subscribers with a quick scan of manifestos and resources focusing on or highlighting learning and skills issues.
It’s extremely rare, but last month was a quiet one for learning & skills in Scotland. With mid-term holidays and the nation’s attention focused on… let’s just call them ‘other matters’, it wasn’t too surprising. Or perhaps the relentless pace of change and intensity of activity across the learning & skills landscape finally caught up with everyone, and this was the breather we all needed.
Although there were
no major announcements, a number of items are well worth highlighting:
A number of items focused on tackling poverty, prejudice and harassment, including reports by Universities Scotland on gender-based, and the Equality & Human Rights Commission on race-based, harassment in higher education
Numerous developments aimed to challenge gender imbalance, including a new Gender Commission focused on apprenticeships set up by SDS, the launch of Talent4Point0 to support the data and tech sector, and Equate Scotland’s Inclusive Value tool for the construction industry
This is the tip of the information iceberg: become an Informed Scotland subscriber
so you can keep on top of all the developments. Email [email protected] to request a sample copy.
You can also keep up to date via Twitter @InformedScot where we’ve just hit 4,000 followers!
One of the main themes in September was ‘being better prepared for the future’, spearheaded by the Scottish Government’s new Future Skills Action Plan.
The sense of urgency we reported last month has grown, affected no doubt by heightened public concern about the climate ‘emergency’, the Brexit ‘crisis’ and the ‘threat’ of technology – all intrinsically linked to learning and skills.
Emphasis has shifted from debating what the future might hold, to acting now – trying to maximise opportunities and avoid worst-case scenarios by developing skills, reshaping education and encouraging lifelong learning.
The Future Skills Action Plan, for example, includes proposals for a Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan, and the intention to address skills gaps and shortages as a central part of the response to Brexit.
The Scottish Government’s new annual programme has a ‘continued focus on education and closing the attainment gap as [its] top priority’, although the phrase ‘defining mission’ doesn’t appear this year. This time last year the attention was on national assessments in Primary 1 – this year all eyes are on S4 to S6, with a Senior Phase review announced, following publication of a survey of headteachers and the Scottish Parliament Education & Skills Committee’s Subject choices in schools report of its inquiry.
Numerous consultations and reviews are seeking your input, including:
These are just highlights – become an Informed Scotland subscriber so you can keep on top of all the developments. Email [email protected] to request a sample copy.
Learning & skills was a hive of hot topics over summer 2019. We could have added more to those listed on the cover, such as education & business engagement, mental health & wellbeing, community learning & development, STEM and skills for rural Scotland.
The words of the season were ‘upskilling’ and ‘reskilling’.
The need to prepare those already in the workplace for automation, future skills and work has taken on greater urgency as the pace of significant change increases. Add to that the shortage of ready-skilled, available candidates, exacerbated by Brexit uncertainty, and unsurprisingly we will see more of this over the months ahead.
In the meantime take a look at Scottish Funding Council’s guidance for a new Upskilling Fund for universities, and a Skills Development Scotland report on reskilling and upskilling for ecommerce.
Other studies, surveys and statistics worth seeking out:
The Open University’s third annual Business Barometer examining skills shortages
Fabulous feedback from a subscriber for our Organisations & People Special published earlier this month: I just wanted to thank you for this. It is an amazing piece of work, hugely useful.
Become
an Informed Scotland subscriber
so you can keep on top of all the developments. Email [email protected] to request a
sample copy.
Our monthly intelligence digest of Scottish Learning and Skills
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