Meeting description: To better understand the Scottish Government's thinking in defining green skills as part of the Climate Skills Action Plan the intention to launch a Green Jobs Skills Hub and in the context of the National Economic Transformation Strategy. We raised the role that universities have to play in delivering for Scotland's green skills through their specific undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes reskilling and upskilling initiatives and more broadly climate change education and sustainable development. We agreed that it is hard to predict the exact skills needs of the future and having a broad base in high-level STEM with a transferrable suite of skills offered employers and the economy more flexibility. We also highlighted the role of university research and development in catalysing growth in new green industries that will lead to the creation of new jobs. We highlighted the underfunding of the teaching grant graduate apprenticeships and other skills funding in HE as a limiting factor on universities' ability to deliver. We extended the offer to the Minister to visit universities to see green skills delivery in action and to discuss these issues in more detail.
Topic label: Climate