A country-wide statutory board and more support for innovation, productivity, digital and exporting are among a raft of measures proposed to improve the services of Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies
Reform of Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies can help put the country among the top performing OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations, according to Economy Secretary Keith Brown, who revealed the report from the first phase of the review of agency services yesterday (Tuesday, 25 October).
The newly-published report reveals a raft of reforms, including:
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Creating a new Scotland-wide statutory board to co-ordinate the activities of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, including Scottish Development International (SDI), Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council
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Protecting services in the Highlands and Islands and creating a new service for the south of Scotland
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Accelerating the delivery of the Trade and Investment Strategy and, through SDI, co-ordinating international activity across the public and academic sectors to ensure maximum benefit
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Improving the data and evaluation functions to ensure the new board can provide the best advice across all agencies
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Offering more support to businesses on innovation, productivity, digital and exporting
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Aligning the functions of learning and skills agencies to deliver the joined-up support which young people, colleges, universities and businesses need to increase sustainable economic growth.