There is a range of information, advice and guidance available on funding for skills development in Scotland. These fall into two broad categories:
Funding for learners and Funding for employers
For a listing of useful websites, visit our Scottish funding links page
£10 million jobs fund for social enterprises in scotland
Laurie Russell, the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition Chair, has announced that Scottish social enterprises will receive £10m to train young unemployed people within their organisations thanks to a new version of the axed £1bn Future Jobs Fund.
Community Jobs Scotland will provide opportunities for up to 2,000 young people, with the programme administered by the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition (SSEC) and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO).
The programme will run for one year throughout 2011-2012 and primarily support 16 to 24-year-olds on a six-month minimum wage contract. Participants will receive both job related and general training to support them with future employability.
More information: www.socialenterpriselive.com
Apprenticeships
The Scottish Government recently announced an additional £16m in funding for 7,800 apprenticeships in Scotland, of which approximately 600 are in management. Recent evidence from Sector Skills Councils has highlighted the issue of management and leadership across many sectors, stating that support for management skills will help ensure companies can innovate and continue to take advantage of opportunities for growth even in the current economic climate.
The funding for the management Modern Apprenticeships is part of ScotAction – the Scottish Government’s skills support package to help support Scotland’s economy out of recession and back to economic growth. Scottish Enterprise, Local Enterprise Companies and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) are all involved, but all providers awarded with contracts will be getting the information directly from SDS.
Interested parties should contact Skills Development Scotland via their website - http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/, or call Careers Scotland on 08458 502 502.