Land-based Learning Review report: SG response

The Scottish Government has published its response to the Independent Commission for the Land-Based Learning Review (CLBLR). 

The review reported to Ministers with 22 recommendations to attract and equip more people, particularly women and young people, with the skills and knowledge needed to work in land-based and aquaculture sectors reported to Scottish Government in January 2023. Ministers have accepted, or accepted in principle, all of the recommendations.

The Commission remit was to provide Ministers with evidence-based recommendations to attract and equip more people, particularly women and young people, with the skills and knowledge needed to work in land-based and aquaculture sectors. This included how to provide opportunities and qualifications through learning pathways in early years, school, college, university and work-based learning.

The Review was underpinned by cross-cutting themes:

• Equality and Inclusion
• Fair Work
• Delivering a just transition to a net-zero and a climate resilient Scotland

The 22 recommendations cover a wide range of issues: from perception and awareness of the land-based and aquaculture sectors to the role of schools; from further and higher education to funding and policy, and from data to Just Transition.

How the Scottish Government take recommendations forward will be considered as they develop the Implementation Plan and in the context of broader prioritisation in what are set to remain challenging economic conditions and the similarly challenging fiscal outlook for the Scottish Government.

Any reform of education and skills will take time, so the specific Review actions related to this are likely to be over a period of years. Scottish Government are considering how existing services can be maintained as they make any transition. Similarly, the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill is proposed as the way to progress recommendations for agriculture education and training and the way in which these are implemented will be dependent on the bill processes and timescales.

The overarching Recommendation was to: “Work towards the reframing of the land-based sectors as nature-based”.

Howver, the Scottish Government recognises there are differing views on reframing these sectors under “Nature-Based Sector” for certain purposes and agree there may be benefits from such a change, but research and sector engagement is required to inform a final decision on such a potentially significant move.

Next Steps

The Scottish Government will produce an Implementation Plan with relevant stakeholders to monitor progress and contribute to meeting Recommendation 15 for an annual review of progress.

You can find the report produced by the Commission here

Image Credit LANTRA