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QUALIFICATIONS
The Economy, Energy & Tourism ( EET) Committee commented on what it perceived as the 'confused state of affairs in terms of what is provided' in learning opportunities for the tourism industry in Scotland. The outcome of this investigation confirms that the picture is indeed complex. Annex B shows the number of qualifications and courses available and the overall uptake of these.
What has not clearly emerged is strong evidence that there are too many qualifications or that those that are available are not relevant to industry. The Task Group's conclusion from this data and from its own experience is that, while the volume of courses may look at national level to be confusing, it is likely to reflect the variety of demand from employers at a local level and the responsiveness of education and training providers to that demand. It also reflects the requirements of a sector which has many sub-sectors, each of which require different skills.
Therefore, the Task Group does not agree with the EET Committee's recommendation that there should be "a smaller number of industry-approved and government-certified courses delivered by a limited number of centres with a geographic spread".
However, it is the view of the Task Group that providers of qualifications should make every effort to ensure that new provision is only created when clear industry need is evident and that they should collaborate effectively to ensure that this is the case. In addition, public and private learning providers should do more to help the industry make sense and best use of existing qualifications. Skills Development Scotland has a pivotal role to play in signposting employers to relevant and appropriate provision and the information web resource being developed by People 1 st to make employers aware of the courses and qualifications available through Scotland's colleges will be a useful resource.
In terms of relevance, the Task Group is not convinced that the content of qualifications is a key concern for industry - a view backed up by the Task Group's industry members. Mechanisms are already in place to ensure that vocational qualifications support industry needs.
For example, the sector skills council for the hospitality and tourism, People 1 st, is responsible for developing and maintaining national occupational standards on which Scottish Vocational Qualifications ( SVQs) are based. SVQs typically are the core components of Modern Apprenticeship Frameworks and People 1 st is responsible for developing and updating Modern Apprenticeships for the sector.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority now includes sector skills councils at each stage of development of all its qualifications, ensuring that employer needs are to the fore. The Task Group believes that all those developing qualifications for the sector should base these, where appropriate, on national occupational standards.
What is important for the Hospitality and Tourism sector is method of delivery and particularly the flexibility to meet industry need. The Task Group heard some conflicting evidence about the best time for courses to complete, for instance to deliver potential tourism workers at the right time for industry. There is a need for industry to provide a clear steer through People 1 st to education and training providers about what would best meet their needs.
This leads to a more general question over whether industry demand is being articulated clearly enough to providers. There are strong existing regional networks which could be used to deliver better on this, and the Task Group believes that the Tourism Framework for Change and People 1 st should take the lead in helping these local networks to engage more effectively with the skills agenda.
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