The Scottish Government has published plans for a Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) to be made available to organisations in Scotland who pay the apprenticeship levy. Organisations who do wish to apply to the fund will be dealt with on a first come first served basis, with the last date for applications being 15 December 2017. It is estimated there are around 4,000 levy payers operating in Scotland across the private, public and third sector who will be eligible to apply.
The FWFD is currently a pilot scheme, and in this first year of operating the Scottish Government has introduced a £10,000 cap on training requests regardless of the size of each organisation’s levy payment. The fund can only be used to pay for training offered by Scottish Colleges. The idea is that employers should be speaking to the relevant Regional College to discuss their training needs. As part of the application process employers should be prepared to explain what skills gaps exist in their organisation and why the training will help improve productivity, in addition to a number of other factors. Employers are also encouraged to give due consideration to specific groups such as older workers, those in low skilled jobs, those working regularly with younger workers/apprentices, veterans/early service leavers, and those who identify as belonging to equality groups.
The Guidance states that Regional Colleges and assigned colleges, are required to develop a regional suite of training provisions available at their institution in support of the FWDF. If a College cannot provide the required training then the College should advise the employer if an alternative College could provide it.
HR teams will be interested to know that the Guidance makes specific reference to the need to invest in the following skills gaps and unmet needs:
- Workplace coaching and mentoring;
- HR related support activities;
- Unmet digital skills needs such as digital literacy and big data interpretation; and
- Essential skills such as communication and inter-personal skills.
It seems clear that if an employer wants to make use of this money then early engagement with their local Regional College, and conducting a training needs analysis are essential. We understand that the Scottish Funding Council plan to compile a list of Regional College contacts on their website. To find out more about FWDF click here.
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