Presentation delivered by Derek Brown, Head of Education, Fife Council at College Development Network's 'Developing the Digital Workforce' event on May 15th, 2017.

1. Developing the Digital Workforce
May 2017

2. Key Issues
• Fife Business Base
• Fife Education and Economic Development
• The Partnership Model in Fife
• The Foundation Apprenticeship Delivery Model
• Learning Across the Sectors

3. Business Base
• Fife’s estimated population is 368,100; Working age population (aged 16-64)
231,600 or 63% (2015)
• Fife’s employment rate (Jul2015-Jun 2015) was 71.6% (Scottish rate 72.9%)
• 42.6% of Fife’s economically active population was qualified to degree level
(NVQ4) and above; Scottish and UK comparisons are 42.5% and 37.1%
respectively.
• There were 9,760 enterprises registered in Fife in 2016; 5.6% of Scotland
• 65% of turnover from Fife firms came from the 4% of enterprises employing more
than 250 employees
• The sectors in Fife with the largest number of enterprises are Wholesale, Retail
and Repairs (1,625); Professional, Scientific and Technical activities (1,685); and
Construction (1,140)
• 82% of Fife business is made up of enterprises of fewer than ten people

4. Future Economic Modelling for Fife
• Health and Care Sector
• Energy
• Retail
• Construction and Civil Engineering
• Food and Drink
• ICT and Technology
• Tourism and Hospitality
• Finance and Business Services

5. FA’s versus Fife Economic Planning
Key Sector Focus FA Pathway
Health and Care Sector Health and Social Care
Children and Young People
Energy Engineering
Scientific Technologies
Construction and Civil Engineering Civil Engineering
ICT and Technology ICT Hardware
ICT Software
Creative and Digital Media
Finance and Business Services Financial Services
Business Skills

6. The Family of Apprenticeships in Fife
• Fife has regularly started around 7% of the total
number of Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland –
which would mean by 2020 we would need to be
starting 1400 to meet our contribution to the
national target of 20,000.
• Fife would also need to be starting 350 to meet
our contribution to the 5000 Foundation
Apprenticeships targets nationally.
• We can do these things, but will have to build
capacity to do so.
• This is an opportunity for us.

7. Fife DYW Strategy
• To build a culture of enterprise in every Fife
classroom
• To build more structured pathways to
employment in the senior phase
• To address through early intervention the
needs of those most at risk of labour market
marginalisation

8. Key Issues for Digital / ICT Sector
• Some of our ICT companies has told us that Modern
Apprenticeships are not the way to go for them. They
are too small to sustain the activity involved and do
not believe it to be an effective business proposition
for them.
• They prefer internships and other ways to get to
know young people, so as to facilitate soft
recruitment.
• We have also reflected on computer languages
provided in schools and how they correlate to the
workplace. In school education we tend to talk about
skills and capacity to move between languages.
• But, clearly, some employers want specific knowledge

9. Reaction of Schools
• Pathfinder Apprenticeships in Fife
• Uptake of 320 so far for FA’s for Next Year
• Nine out of Ten Frameworks will run
• Three managed through the Fife College
contract
• Six managed through Fife Council’s strategic
partnership (innovative delivery models)

10. Fundamental Questions: School
College Partnerships
• Shared ownership of the partnership by key
players
• Improved communication
• Access to provision (transportation in a
diverse region)
• Pastoral support for young people undertaking
such courses
• Quality of delivery

11. New Modes of Delivery
• Fife wide approach – bringing in the right
partners
• Host school, sending schools, delivery
partners and key business partners
• Pastoral Support

12. • SDS quality frameworks
• Fife Council procurement frameworks
• How Good is Our School / College?
– Quantitative Data
– Qualitative Data
– Direct Observation

13. Skills and Knowledge
• Better Learning
• Future Focused Curriculum
• Infused by Business Partnership
• 15-24 Learner Journeys
• “Your education today is your economy
tomorrow” Schleichler (OECD)