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Executive Summary
1. Since the First Minister's announcement in February 2004 of the need to address the future decline and ageing of the population, important achievements have been made in placing the notion of fresh talent onto the political landscape in Scotland. Through the formation of a Fresh Talent team, and its implementation of schemes in partnership with other agencies, there have been achievements in attracting new talent into the country, and in raising the profile of Scotland as an open, welcoming place to live, work, study and do business.
2. Further, the projects initiated under Fresh Talent have helped to re-position Scotland internationally, creating new relations with the UK government in regard to migration, with British organisations overseas in assisting key groups to come to Scotland, and with Scottish diasporeans across the world.
3. Recognising that there is no direct, simple approach to competing within the international market for talent, the FT initiative has sought to generate new talent familiar with Scotland; smooth the process for fresh talent to come to Scotland to work, study, live and do business; and has developed approaches to promote the openness of Scotland to fresh talent, both within the nation and internationally.
Reviewing progress
4. After only two years it is unrealistic to expect the impact of Fresh Talent to be visible in terms of significantly increasing in-migration flows to Scotland. Nevertheless early shoots of new growth are evident, as more overseas students have been given the chance to study in and experience life in Scotland, and more than 1800 have taken up the opportunity to work here for at least 2 years under Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme.
5. This progress review reaches behind these headlines to consider key questions as to whether there is still a need for a Fresh Talent initiative, what "talent" means and which groups of talent should be attracted. It also reviews the monitoring and evaluation being undertaken of the schemes implemented, and provides an 'external' assessment of the impact of Fresh Talent to date. In looking forward, the review also asks about whether there are sufficient resources and capacity to continue to make a sustainable and meaningful contribution to addressing the talent needs of Scotland.
The rationale for Fresh Talent
6. In the last 2 years, Fresh Talent was viewed by the Executive, in different degrees of importance, as addressing the pressures of a declining and ageing population, future labour needs for a growing economy, and creating a culturally diverse society. This was to be achieved through seeking new talent, attracted to Scotland as migrants. Since then, changes in the demographic trends in Scotland, the new proposed migration policy in the UK, limited skills shortages and growing debates over the importance of culture within the economy have reshaped the context in which FT is located.
7. Despite these shifts, the fundamentals of an ageing population, the importance of migration to population growth, and the associated future labour market needs remain important. There is still a need for Scotland to attract new talent - but some of the immediacy of the pressure has been released.
Key target groups
8. Under Fresh Talent, 5 key groups of talent were identified and the Executive has adopted an approach which aims to roll out projects targeting these sequentially. International students and people wishing to work in Scotland have received most attention to date, along with some interventions to assist business in Scotland to recruit overseas. Less attention has been given to entrepreneurs, the self-employed or to returnee Scots.
9. Whilst there is logic to this selection of target groups, especially as they include many who can be amongst the most mobile, the changing contexts around Fresh Talent raise opportunities for other target groups to be identified.
10. First, targeting the retention of talent in Scotland is important because out-migration, to the rest of the UK and overseas, has averaged 55,000 per annum. As many of those leaving are at the early stages of their working lives, reducing this out-flow can contribute to reducing the demographic pressures already a rationale for the Fresh Talent initiative.
11. Second, using more productively the talent which has left Scotland, but which retains a strong affinity with and recent experience of Scotland as a place to live and work, is also important. Conceiving of this 'affinity diaspora' as a target group, and bringing together some of the networks already in place, offers opportunities to enhance its advocacy role for Scotland.
12. Third, attracting talent has to be conceived of as more than the physical relocation of people. In a modern, highly connected world, the mobility of talented people also involves for example short-term exchanges within companies, and movement associated with international contracts and global business. Recognising that each of these creates flows of talent and can be advantageous to retaining people in Scotland; those involved therefore form a further target group.
13. Fourth, and reflecting the changing UK landscape of managed migration, there is a strong case for a geographically defined target group within the EU/ EEA. It is increasingly from here that many talented people, including those that are lower skilled, will be drawn to meet labour needs in Scotland.
14. There is thus an opportunity to redefine the nature of talent which is being prioritised as Fresh Talent responds to need in Scotland.
Evaluation and monitoring
15. More than 15 projects have been implemented under Fresh Talent, ranging in size and complexity from the formation of the Relocation Advisory Service and the Fresh Talent Working in Scotland Scheme for international graduates, through to offering postgraduate scholarships under the Scottish International Scholarship Programme in partnership with the British Council, to supporting Universities in Scotland in assisting international students to link with business in Scotland under the Challenge Fund.
16. Each of the projects has been or will be subject to evaluation. To this end, the Fresh Talent team in the International Projects Division of the Executive has devoted considerable time and resources responding to external scrutiny. Across the FT agenda, there are clear objectives and measurable targets set for each project. There is scope for improvement in some schemes which operate in conjunction with partners - mainly in aligning projects with Fresh Talent priorities - and in ensuring that the information is gathered to enable monitoring and evaluation. This is most acute in those projects where Fresh Talent contributions have been added to existing activity.
Measuring impact
17. Looking beyond the individual projects, to date, priority has been given to two target groups and the impact of Fresh Talent to each has been assessed in this review.
18. Recognising the size and significance of the opportunities to attract international students and the high esteem with which higher and further education in Scotland is held, Fresh Talent initially focussed on supporting this target group. Working alongside the British Council, Universities and Colleges, a variety of schemes have been funded: this ranges from competitive scholarships (Scottish International Scholarship Programme), through to support for students whilst in Scotland to gain access to employment (Challenge Fund, DARE, EDGE, Fresh Talent Working in Scotland Scheme), to the expansion of contact networks with international graduates who leave Scotland (Scottish Networks International).
19. Under these schemes:
- High quality and experienced graduates have been recruited under the SISP, with all 22 students funded in 2005 involved with SNI;
- 12 imaginative projects funded within Universities and Colleges in 2005-06 to support international students in career planning and access to employment;
- More than 1800 international graduates given leave to remain and work in Scotland for 2 years without a need for a work permit under Fresh Talent Working in Scotland Scheme.
20. Inevitably, the numbers involved in most schemes form only a small proportion of the market. However, the 'ripple out' impact of these schemes has wider and longer-term benefits, including promoting Scotland, raising further the profile of higher education opportunities, and highlighting employment opportunities in Scotland. It is impossible at this stage to quantify these benefits, but importantly they arise only if the experiences of those attracted to Scotland are positive. Evaluation of this component remains to be undertaken and must take into account whether those assisted under FT are able to fulfil their personal ambitions in Scotland.
21. But there are some minor implementation issues which may limit the sustainability of some of the schemes:
- Graduates retained in Scotland under FTWiSS need to be supported in gaining permanent residency through other in-migration schemes;
- Universities need to provide more resources to internal support services (eg Careers Offices, International Student Offices) to support overseas students in staying in Scotland;
- Employers in Scotland need to have a greater involvement with FT schemes such as those under the Challenge Fund.
22. This latter point in part reflects the limited but growing emphasis FT has placed on businesses within Scotland. The early complaints that business was not consulted sufficiently prior to the launch of the Fresh Talent initiative are now being addressed, as FT focuses on business.
23. With limited evidence of an imperative for business to seek out overseas labour and with language difficulties cited as the principal barrier to overseas recruitment, there are real challenges in encouraging business to embrace Fresh Talent.
24. The ultimate success of both the student and business components of FT will rest on changing employers' attitudes and engagement with international labour and their overall expectations of FT. This could involve:
- Greater involvement of business within global networks to make them aware of skill levels;
- More work placement links for overseas graduates, as their linguistic abilities could alter employer perceptions, and assist retention of talent;
- Development of a web forum connecting employers seeking to recruit with talent considering relocation to Scotland;
- A high skilled entrepreneur programme amongst international students studying in Scotland.
25. The third main area of FT activity, returnee Scots, is at an immature stage. Activity to date has been focused primarily on web-based contacts and the development of information networks - Scotland is the Place, Global Friends of Scotland and SNI. In addition, engagement with selected diasporeans has been undertaken to support specific events such as Tartan Week. This diverse group of many millions of people remains underused.
Developing the Fresh Talent initiative
26. Over the last 2 years, an important and significant start has been made in rising to the challenge of attracting talent to Scotland. With limited financial resources and a small team of staff in the Executive, supported by partner agencies, Fresh Talent to date has pushed forward action which in other countries is undertaken by single government departments and a larger resource base.
27. Attracting talent into Scotland will never be easy and is a long-term task. 'Talent', or human capital, itself has become a valued commodity, competed for by governments and companies across the world. Fresh Talent schemes therefore have to compete in already crowded market places - and to do so will require the continuing provision of resources, both human and financial. Without further and expanded funding, the Fresh Talent unit on its own will not have the capacity to meet all aspects of this challenge. The review identifies four different scenarios which, depending on the level of resources available, can result in Fresh Talent: continuing to roll out adding new initiatives as it targets new groups; rolling forward from one area of activity to another; operating on a more focussed basis; or becoming a skills led approach to matching migration with labour shortages.
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