Skills for the Future: Unlocking Potential Through Apprenticeships takes place at CMS’s Edinburgh office on 18 March. The panel event follows the CMS and FAI Skills for Today and Tomorrow report which was released last October. It will bring together Scottish businesses and policymakers to explore the vital role apprenticeships can play in helping tackle skills shortages. 

The event will feature a broad range of contributors including Miles Briggs MSP, from the Scottish Conservatives, former Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie MSP, Scottish Labour MSP Daniel Johnson, and former Scotland Food and Drink CEO James Withers, who authored the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape in Scotland, published in 2023.

Also addressing the event will be Fraser of Allander director, Professor Mairi Spowage, and Michelle Ferguson, director of CBI Scotland.

Allan Wernham, managing director of CMS Scotland, said: “This upcoming event explores how the business community and policymakers can work together to maximise the potential of apprenticeship programmes. It stems from the Skills for Today and Tomorrow report, launched in conjunction with the FAI last year, which highlighted skills shortages as a key risk to Scotland’s economy.

“We look forward to welcoming Scottish business representatives to join the discussion with our accomplished contributors.”

Professor Spowage said: This event comes as the UK government is reviewing the skills system in England. While the exact impact this will have on apprenticeship funding and policy south of the border remain unclear, it provides a timely context for reconsidering the system in Scotland.”