The Scottish Government

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

Friday, November 30, 2007

In May of this year the people of Scotland voted for a new approach and better future for Scotland. Now we are asking you to take part in a National Conversation on whether more powers would be beneficial for our country.

For example, skills for work is a devolved area, but the UK Government often leads in the design of employment and skills policies. UK Government employment and benefit-related policies generally address the wider skills needs of the UK but don't always take account of what's best for Scotland.

We recently launched the first ever skills strategy for Scotland 'Skills for Scotland' to address Scotland's skills issues, some of which are different from those in the rest of the UK. Further transfer of powers in the area of employment services could provide greater coherence and accountability for delivery of employment and skills development policy.

We just have to look to small independent countries across the water to see that further powers could help Scotland become smarter.

We could deliver a more comprehensive early years strategy if we had more say over reserved areas. The ability to set maternity and paternity leave, for example, would allow us to support parents in those crucial early years. We need only look to Iceland to see the benefits. It can set maternity and paternity rules which currently give fathers three months leave when mothers decide to return to work. This not only makes the return to work easier for mothers but also ensures fathers take more interest in their child's upbringing.

Our National Conversation is the first step to exploring what extra powers could do for Scotland - I for one am convinced we would thrive and compete on the world stage, providing a better standard of living and quality of life for families.

This blog is now closed to further comments.

Comments

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• 51. Dave Eastabrook - Largs, Ayrshire

  Monday, November 5, 2007 01:43

  First I congratulate Fiona Hyslop in that unlike other blog preambles, hers only mentions independence in terms of other countries: "We just have to look to small independent countries across the water ...", but addresses well, her own area of Education and Lifelong Learning.
  
  A purpose of education is to put ourselves in control of our own lives, our own destinies, with skills and abilities to put into practice our chosen paths. It seems to me that the better we are able to do this, the more we extend our own independence on the state, charities or random fortune to support us and our hopes and ambitions; and the more we are able to control our personal destinies (and as it happens the more we might be in favour of independence for our country so that it can control its own destiny).
  
  There is a very basic shortcoming in education in this country, though some schools do make efforts to address this in some ways. Our education system concentrates on qualifications to get a job, career, vocation, whether professional or trade. In other words, to take our place in the "workforce". It seems at last that there are steps to address entrepreneurial skills. It does not address basic abilities which all of us should have:
  1). To budget, whether pocket money, allowance, grant, income or profits.
  2). How to use bank accounts, credit cards, deal with borrowing (Home Ec Std grade which is not compulsory).
  3). To deal with suppliers effectively and in time, whether domestic such as electricity or a new fridge, or 10,000 widgets for our next production run.
  4). To know our rights as consumers.
  5). To complain effectively if we are charged unfair bank charges, penalties, excess interest, excessive call out charges, or for work or goods we did not authorise.
  6). To deal with authority, respecting their rights while enforcing our own.
  7). Others, basically how to be a happy citizen.
  
  All of these are as neccessary for the employed as the unemployed, the academic as the entrepreneur.
  
  There is little in the education system designed to give us self-confidence and the general ability to assert ourselves (as opposed to whinge, bluster or threaten with aggression). There's also little about self-discipline as opposed to external discipline. Career advice, if any, may deal with what job to get, it does not deal with what sort of life we may want - e.g. working in an office or trade as opposed to being a racing driver or professional rugby player! Though speeling punctation and gramma have being de-emphasised like wot this is, there's not enough emphasis on effective communication (general semantics - language in thought and action).
  
  Much of this knowledge may be expected to be taken care of by parents or guardians; but many of us may not have the knowledge or confidence ourselves, may be under other pressures such as debt from the inability to budget, may not have the resources - or confidence. I would like to see more of this within the education system, even from primary school stage.
  
  I should make clear that I am absolutely totally against "the state" attempting in any way to influence my children, or indeed anyone else's children in their ideological opinions, though I am happy for them to be encouraged to have their own.
  
  A special point about Universtities etc.: Lib-Dem/Labour removed the need to pay tuition fees, the SNP are to remove the graduate endowment. It needs to go further - no prudent student should exit further education with debts. That is an intolerable imposition.

• 52. Donald MacKinnon - Edinburgh

  Monday, November 5, 2007 14:01

  in response to 44. Angus Og? - Fife " you have a Gaidhlig name lol young Angus it means lol and well there are only 60 000 of us left but we are growing just look at Ireland or wales welsh is now the second largest language in the uk, and Gaidhlig is a huge part of the sottish culture and it would be devastating to see it go bag pipes traditional dance tartan clan names our own blood is all deeply routed in gaidhlig, so please do not dare say the Gaelic culture and language was well and truly given the heave over 400 years ago, because it is the rout of sottish culture therefore it will live on as long as Scotland lives on

• 53. Angus Og? - Fife

  Monday, November 5, 2007 22:56

  #52
  
  What have the Irish and Welsh got to do with Scottish Culture? The Scottish 'Language' was Scots often claimed to be a slang version of English. Doric has a better claim to being the root of Scottish heritage than Gaelic, Gaidlig or Erse, which are rooted in the Islands. A fact recognised by Angus Og who had a big fall out with his father, the so called 'Lord of the Isles' and defeated him in a big battle. This was after the Gaidlig speaking Islanders were defeated in another battle on the West coast decades prior to this.
  
  Mainland Scots have more heritage with other roots than that displayed by the Islanders, which can be more readily equated to Norwegian or Viking culture. No Thanks.

• 54. Annis - Glasgow

  Tuesday, November 6, 2007 17:59

  Judging by some of the terrible spelling/grammar employed by posters on these blogs, Ms Hyslop's 'Directorate' has a mighty struggle on its hands to supply the kind of potential employees that our employers need. I can't see a 'stronger, wealthier' or independent Scotland being built by a generation of illiterate work-shy dole claimers and their even more appalling offspring. So what are the SNP going to do about it?

• 55. Annis - Glasgow

  Tuesday, November 6, 2007 18:12

  [I am also shocked at how anyone could say that Rober Burns was, 'bad language'. It is an integral part of Scottish Culture. Anyone who denies his place in our history and denies anyone learning or reading his poems is scandelous.]
  
  I don't understand the language he writes in. So I don't read him. Like the little girl referred to by the original poster, I too declined to read one of his poems out in class, as to me it was full of the 'slang' and 'uncouth' language my mother was determined we would not speak. In my 5th year at school, it took a year-wide rebellion to have 'Sunset Song' replaced by something we could understand to study for our Highers.
  
  My mother tongue is English, does that make me any less Scottish? Actually, the way things are going, the answer from many of the posters in here will probably be yes!
  
  
  

• 56. Gordon Murray - Livingston

  Thursday, November 8, 2007 01:00

  53. Angus Og? - Fife
  Monday, November 5, 2007 22:56
  
  So what have you been up to since your comic strip was taken out of the Daily Record, and how is Lachie Mhor and Marileen?
  
  As for your points about the influence of Welsh/Irish lingual roots, I humbly suggest you do a bit more research before making a further Erse of yourself.
  
  Check out the Brythonic and Goidelic Celtic languages and the range of their influence. eg Cumbria, Northumbria, Lothian, the Kingdom of Strathclyde.
  
  Here's a wee something to get you thinking:
  http://scathan.journalexchange.net/archive/1998/04_april/04.1998.scots.html
  
  Perhaps our schools could do more to encourage youngsters to seek out kmowledge for themselves rather than meekly accept that which is spoon fed to them?

• 57. Angus Og 2 - Fife

  Thursday, November 8, 2007 13:25

  #56
  Gordon Murray
  
  Point of reference BBC1 Mondays about three or four weeks ago by a knowledgeable Scottish presenter. The point to be made in response to another contributor was tha Scotland is a broad church as far as languages are concerned the least of which is Gaidlig. I notice you failed to maintain your decorum and fell into the trap of trying to make a pun out of one of the other titles. Perhaps I should have written my response in Parliamo Glesgo, Doric, Auld Scots or 'Fit Like' which would have had more appeal to mainland Scots than the language of the Isles and beyond.

• 58. Steve -

  Sunday, November 11, 2007 16:32

  I would like to see an Independant Scotland. I have every confidence that we would do very well in this world as an independant nation. Is there an electronic petition etc for a referendum? If so where do I find it.

• 59. Donald MacKinnon - Edinburgh

  Monday, November 12, 2007 09:18

  in response to 44. Angus Og? you say "least of which is Gaidhlig" please understand that this is insulting. and how can you say such a thing when all native sottish folk are linked to gaidhlig. our ancestors bled the ground red at Calloden to protect the Celtic way of life. please stop spreading your ridiculous claims that Gaidhlig is only part of the islands when in fact the place that is seeing most growth is in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Come see it for your self the word of the gaidhlig people true Scottish people are even written on the walls of our parliament.

• 60. Paul Lamont - Glasgow

  Monday, November 12, 2007 16:57

  You talk about education being paramount to a successful country. Yet why would you vote for a party completely opposed to building new schools- which the SNP was- just because the councils never owend them. Well better facilities and all round learning environments helped me continue onto university where I now study; and most probably every student why was a pupil at a newly built school under Labour.
  Furthermore, the idea of looking on Britain- and indeed- England as some bully that oppresses Scotland is the exact type of ignorant self centered 'nationalism' that Germany and Italy suffered under in the 30's and 40's.
  The SNP since they have came into power have talked about change and a new direction- yeah if thats anything other than propaganda i'm a 'Flying Scot' - 24 of Gordon Browns 28 bill pledges used by the SNP. But then isn't what the SNP claimed Labour done follow too many of Westministers' policies. Seems like a case of double standards.

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