While April was all about learning & skills in lockdown, in May the focus shifted to examining the impact of COVID-19 and to considering how to cautiously move towards normality.
The Scottish Government’s route map through and out of the crisis published on 21 May is the touchstone for all plans, and schools, colleges, universities and training providers are all working hard on creating workable solutions.
The impact of the virus is all pervasive, including across learning & skills. Every day, it seems, its affect on yet another group or issue is being uncovered. To understand this better, numerous surveys are being conducted and a raft of these were published last month, including those of:
This issue marks Informed Scotland’s eighth birthday. When the first issue was published in 2012, Scotland’s youth unemployment was 23.1%. Having been as low as 6.1% in 2019, it is currently at 12.0% with signs that the current crisis will push that figure up way higher. A report on Securing a place for young people in the nation’s economic recovery by the Institute for Employment Studies and partners, plus some of the surveys above, examine the concerns, the impact and the ‘rapid response’ required to avoid disaster.
It’s not all about the virus however – as we all open our eyes to racism, look out for a timely report from Equate Scotland on Women in STEM: An intersectional analysis of multiple discriminations, highlighting the experiences of those working in science, technology, engineering and maths in Scotland.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning & skills has been swift and significant. Like the rest of normal life, it has affected all sectors, all learners, practitioners and their support networks, and all institutions, organisations and systems.
An Informed Scotland COVID-19 Response & Support Extra aims to provide a useful snapshot of what’s been happening and the support that’s available. It pulls together links to:
government and national body announcements
new guidance and resources
information and services from a range of organisations.
As always it looks at learning & skills right across the landscape – in business, schools, further and higher education, community and adult learning, and wider society. The majority of the items appeared in more detail in our March and April main digests, however the aim is to provide subscribers with a helpful compilation, with quick links to more detail when they need it.
Not a subscriber? The Extra is available free of charge. Contact [email protected] for your free copy.
While March was a month of two worlds, before and during lockdown, April was all about learning & skills in lockdown and a recognition of the emerging new normal.
The focus has shifted from closing down and moving as swiftly as possible to online and remote learning, to developing and sharing, discovering new ways to connect and learn, and checking how everyone, including learners and practitioners, is coping. There’s also a growing emphasis across the landscape on finances and funding, with concerns expressed, and answers and sources sought.
I have also been compiling a COVID-19 Response & Support Extra – more on that later.
Thanks to one of our subscribers for this heart-warming feedback: ‘It is at times like these when organisations look to cut back however I have been most grateful for the Informed Scotland contribution that it brings and your continued support of our work online and therefore happy to continue to subscribe…’
Become an Informed Scotland subscriber so you can keep on top of all the developments. Email [email protected] to request a sample copy.
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.
Our monthly intelligence digest of Scottish Learning and Skills
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