The First Minister:

There are a range of ways in which we are working to ensure that our economy offers the opportunities that our young people need and want. The work that many of our universities and colleges do with business to ensure that they are providing the courses and opportunities that employers need to grow their businesses is part of that, and the work that we are doing to encourage high-value investment into Scotland is another part.

One of the business leaders who were engaged in discussion with us on 21 March was Sir Ian Wood, who led for the Scottish Government the work on developing the young workforce, to make much more close and productive links between our schools, our academic institutions and the world of work. The work on developing the young workforce is now being taken forward across Scotland, and chambers of commerce, for example, have a leading role to play in that.

Although our economic strategy and economic initiatives have a range of purposes in growing the economy, they should all be furthering our young people’s opportunities to succeed and prosper.