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The Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland
"Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation."
John F. Kennedy
Minister's Foreword
My vision for lifelong learning in Scotland
This document sets out the Executive's five-year strategy for lifelong learning. It seeks to consider lifelong learning provision from various perspectives. That's because we believe lifelong learning brings benefits to the individual as well as to society; to the employed, as well as to those who employ them; to the social fabric of our society as well as to the economy. In other words, lifelong learning has an important and distinctive contribution to make to people's wellbeing, to a more inclusive society and to a vibrant and sustainable economy.
Our strategy builds on the significant achievements stemming from the Executive's two Programmes for Government and 'Opportunity Scotland' (the then Scottish Office's vision for lifelong learning published in 1998).
But we need to do more. The recent Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee Inquiry into Lifelong Learning identified six areas of change - economic, demographic, social justice, citizenship, skill shortages and technological - which will affect the provision of learning in the future. The Committee's report has been a key influence on this strategy - we recognise both the importance of the evidence received by the Committee and the final report of the Inquiry. The Committee highlighted that all those involved in providing learning in Scotland need to deal with the radical changes ahead of us in a cohesive and coherent manner.
We cannot accept:
- the opportunity gap between those who achieve their full potential and those who do not;
- the skills gaps between those in work and those who are not; and
- the productivity gap between Scotland and the leading economies of the world.
Bridging these gaps is vital if we are to make social justice a reality, if Scottish businesses are to grow and prosper, and if we are to help the people of Scotland to help themselves.
This strategy works with the grain of recent developments in lifelong learning. It supports ongoing progress while tackling the variation in that progress.
- We want people who think that learning is 'not for them' to find out that it is.
- We want to build self-confidence in people returning to learning, by giving them the information, support and guidance they need.
- We want people to be motivated to expand their learning and develop their skills and to be enterprising in their attitudes to work.
- We want Scotland's employers, private, public and voluntary, to see for themselves the potential benefits of using and developing skills in the workplace - improved performance, satisfied customers, motivated employees.
- We want to make sure that everybody, regardless of personal circumstances, can access the best possible learning opportunities.
People's experiences at school have an important influence on their learning experiences later in life so this strategy takes account of the National Debate on Education and the Review of Enterprise in Education. The strategy has been developed together with the Executive's responses to these two important exercises.
Learning - gaining new skills and new knowledge - is a lifetime opportunity and a lifetime achievement. Different types of learning help people to develop their potential in different ways; from fostering new interests that enrich their lives to accessing jobs and careers that may have seemed out of their reach.
That's why I want people in Scotland to develop a passion for learning:
- I want people to be eager to learn more about what they already know
- I want them to be curious to learn what they might have only heard about
- I want them to be inspired to achieve what they thought would never be possible
- and I want people to retain that passion for acquiring new skills and new scholarship throughout their lives
I commend this strategy to you. This is still only a beginning. We cannot make these changes without the active support of all involved. I urge you to play your part in engendering a passion for, and a commitment to, learning in all our people, throughout their lives.
Iain Gray MSP
Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
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