To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that college courses are being tailored to meet the needs of industries involved in energy efficiency, carbon reduction and the just transition. (S6O-04083)

Our colleges have an important role to play in developing the multiskilled workforce that will drive the just transition to net zero. Colleges are directly involved in the regions and communities that they serve, and our expectation is that they will work closely with employers to determine the shape of their curriculum in that area and others.

The Scottish Government actively supports such work. For instance, through the just transition fund, we have allocated £4.5 million over five years for the energy transition skills hub at North East Scotland College, which aims to support 1,000 people into energy transition roles.

I welcome the work that is going on at NESCol, but some businesses continue to tell me that college courses need to change to meet the needs of today’s ever-changing workplaces. How will the Government bring dynamism and flexibility into further education courses to meet the needs of companies?

I hear the same things as Kevin Stewart does, as he articulated. Colleges are responsible for determining their own operational decisions, including on course provision. We trust them to engage closely with employers and local partners to understand the skills needs and to routinely and continuously plan and adjust their core curriculum to meet the emerging needs of the economy. The post-school education and skills reform programme aims to make further improvements.

The Scottish Funding Council sets out expectations of colleges in return for the funding that they receive through outcomes, taking into consideration students, vocations, employers’ needs, the Scottish Government’s ambition and targets, and other stakeholder interests. For instance, NESCol co-developed a pre-apprenticeship welding course with direct industry input from the Energy Skills Partnership and Ocean Winds, in line with the needs of the offshore wind sector.

Good practice is out there, but we need that to be delivered more widely.

We have a supplementary question from Pam Duncan-Glancy, who joins us remotely.

The ability of colleges to deliver is crucial if they are to meet the needs of the energy industry, but yesterday’s budget included a real-terms cut for colleges. Colleges Scotland has said that the budget “undermines” colleges’ ability to deliver and that

“leaving colleges millions of pounds short is unacceptable”.

With regard to colleges, Audit Scotland has warned the Government of

“a risk to their ability to continue in their current form”

and has said that addressing colleges’ funding challenges

“cannot be avoided or postponed”.

Which is it? Is the minister postponing help for colleges or avoiding helping them altogether?

Colleges received a 1.8 per cent uplift in funding from the budget yesterday. Of course, if Labour or any other party wants the funding to be increased, it can engage in the budget negotiations process. I seem to remember Pam Duncan-Glancy also expressing the view yesterday that student support should be maintained at a level beyond demand, so there have already been two asks from her when the ink is barely dry on the budget. I should remind Labour that, if it wants to spend more in one or two areas, there will need to be cuts elsewhere in the budget.

I cannot let this opportunity pass without reminding Labour that a fresh and additional pressure on colleges will be the changes to employer national insurance contributions, which it is currently unwilling to fully mitigate.