- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 31 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Scottish Funding Council to discuss funding for energy skills initiatives.
Answer
The Scottish Government regularly meets with the Scottish Funding Council to discuss a wide range of matters, including sectoral skills initiatives.
For example, skills officials recently met with SFC to discuss the co-led Tertiary Pathfinder Programme which, among others, includes the NESA Energy Transition Skills Pathway pilot project.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many green jobs have been created directly as a result of Just Transition funding.
Answer
The Just Transition Fund has allocated £75 million to date, supporting a cross-sector portfolio of projects ranging across sectors like energy, agriculture, digital innovation and construction while also supporting communities across the North East and Moray to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future.
This includes £9.7 million on a package of skills interventions supporting the transferability of workforce across sectors to meet the needs of the net zero transition including: a digital offshore energy skills passport; and an Energy Transition Skills Hub.
The Scottish Government does not currently hold overall figures relating to employment outcomes or job creation as a result of our funded programmes. We are currently commissioning an independent evaluation which will help to determine this and the impact of the Fund to date, in due course.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many former oil and gas workers have transitioned to green jobs as a result of Just Transition funding.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not currently hold overall figures relating to employment outcomes or job creation as a result of our funded programmes. We are currently commissioning an independent evaluation which will help to determine this and the impact of the Fund to date, in due course.
Through the Just Transition Fund specifically, we have allocated £9.7 million for a package of skills interventions in the North East. We are currently commissioning an independent evaluation of the Fund’s impact to date which will include existing jobs supported and new jobs created. This work is due to complete by March end 2025.
This includes:
- £4.5 million over 5 years for the Energy Skills Transition Hub – which aims to support 1000 people into energy transition roles.
- £1 million for the National Energy Skills Accelerator to support a pilot scheme to better understand future energy skills needs and deliver workforce training.
- funding for a feasibility study about net zero skills requirements and labour supply chain bottlenecks in Moray.
- £3.7 million for the development of the Offshore Energy Skills Passport.
In addition, we are taking forward and supporting a wide range of sector-specific efforts, designed to help workers seize new opportunities, while ensuring that the sector does not lose essential skills and experience.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group to discuss employment and training initiatives for the renewable energy sector.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not yet met with the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group to discuss employment and training initiatives for the renewable energy sector.
The Scottish Government engages with industry regularly via a number of mechanisms including the Scottish Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) and the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC).
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Offshore Energies UK to discuss employment and training initiatives.
Answer
Scottish Government Ministers and officials regularly meet with industry stakeholders, including OEUK to discuss their ongoing employment and training initiatives. The First Minister and I met with David Whitehouse, CEO of OEUK on 30 September 2024. The Scottish Government is working with the energy sector to plan for a multi-skilled workforce to ensure a fair and just transition for Scotland’s highly skilled offshore workers.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met industry stakeholders to discuss workforce planning for renewable energy projects.
Answer
The most recent discussion on workplace planning for renewable energy projects took place at The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) on 18 September 2024, where members discussed barriers and opportunities in relation to skills and the workforce for the offshore wind industry.
We will continue to engage with industry stakeholders to plan for a multi-skilled energy workforce that can benefit from opportunities across the energy system.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when a decision will be made on reallowing alcohol at certain times on ScotRail services.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware that passengers, ScotRail staff and other stakeholders hold a wide range of views about alcohol on trains.
Ministers continue to consider this wide range of diverging views in line with the broad range of recommendations made in our report on women and girls’ safety on public transport and in the context of ongoing initiatives to tackle antisocial behaviour on public transport.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 23 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-20679, S6W-22695 and S6W-24757 by Neil Gray on 31 August 2023, 15 November 2023 and 1 February 2024 respectively and question S6W-27001 by Mairi McAllan on 7 May 2024, whether it will provide an update on the establishment of the advisory group required under section 29 of the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020.
Answer
I am pleased to announce, in line with the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020, six individuals have agreed to become members of the Ministerial Advisory Group. They have a broad range of knowledge and expertise relevant to providing Ministers with advice on the objects, conduct and performance of the Bank.
I will host the first meeting of the Group in due course.
Full details of the Group’s membership can be found at https://www.gov.scot/groups/scottish-national-investment-bank-ministerial-advisory-group.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 18 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the UK Government to discuss the impact of any funding changes on local skills initiatives for the energy sector in Scotland.
Answer
Officials are in regular contact with our UK Government counterparts. We are engaging closely with the newly formed Office for Clean Energy Jobs - set up to tackle workforce and skills challenges in the energy sector - and we look forward to supporting the work this office will drive forward.
Whilst skills are a devolved responsibility, we are committed to working with all the stakeholders necessary to deliver the skills system needed as our energy sector transforms. This includes Scottish Government taking responsibility for skills planning at the national level and working with partners to strengthen regional skills planning.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 15 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Offshore Energies UK report, Energy Industry Skills Landscape Study, and whether it will seek to implement its recommendations.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the Energy Industry Skills Landscape Study.
We continue to work with the energy sector to plan for a multi-skilled workforce that can benefit from opportunities across the energy system. This includes enabling skilled offshore workers to carry their experience and expertise into different roles as our energy sector evolves, and ensuring a reliable pipeline of future talent, to support Scotland's renewable energy ambitions.
