Invest in further education or face dire consequences, Government is told

Colleges and universities need urgent investment to avoid “dire consequences” for economic and employment opportunities, the Scottish Government has been warned.

The Scottish Government’s draft budget, expected to be delivered on December 15, must include funding for post-school education, Colleges Scotland and Universities Scotland said in a joint statement.

The organisations said the Scottish Government’s key aims of economic transition, climate mitigation and tackling child poverty cannot be achieved without helping graduates enter the economy at the right time.

Higher and further education is facing significant financial challenges with both sectors warning that a lack of funding would have long term detrimental effects.

Without it, the organisations said, Scotland risks losing out on tens of thousands of jobs in emerging green industries and sectors like high-value manufacturing and quantum technologies if there is insufficient investment in skills development.

Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said: “Scotland has world class colleges and universities which are capable of delivering the competencies and learning opportunities needed to ensure a skills-led recovery is possible.

“However, a failure to adequately fund these vital organisations will undoubtably mean we will miss out on the potential economic and employment opportunities ahead of us.

“The choice is stark. Invest in further and higher education and deliver tens of thousands of jobs while attracting tens of billions in investment or don’t invest and live with the inevitable dire consequences which will damage Scotland for decades to come.”

Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said: “Scotland is at a real crossroads. Clearly, public finances are under real pressure, but Scotland’s strategy must be to invest in areas that can return sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

“Our colleges and universities offer Scotland exactly that. Colleges and university budgets have already taken several hits over recent years leaving institutions highly exposed to current inflationary challenges.

“Their budgets must be protected going forward if Scotland is to get the high level skills needed as part of a just transition, to support the emergence of new industries, products and processes due to research and to attract inward investment.

“Investment in post-school education must be one of Scotland’s priorities because of its ability to deliver for Scotland.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Despite severe budget pressures, we have allocated £1.97 billion in Scotland’s colleges and universities through the Scottish Funding Council for 2022-23 – which is the highest in recent years.

“This enables them to continue to deliver high-quality education and training to support our future economic and social prosperity.

“Of this year’s budget allocation, we are providing over £1.1 billion to our universities to support their continued financial sustainability and their work in strengthening our economic recovery – including supporting our young people gain the skills and knowledge they need to be successful.

“We continue to work with the Scottish Funding Council to continue our support for colleges and universities.”