Written evidence submitted by City of Glasgow College (DIS0035)

Written evidence submitted by City of Glasgow College to Scottish Affairs Committee- Military Shipbuilding in Scotland November 2022

Overview

City of Glasgow College – (‘City’), Scotland’s ‘Super College’- is a critical enabler to support the renaissance of UK shipbuilding both in general, and at Scottish shipyards in particular, given its status as a world-renowned powerhouse of excellence and innovation in technological and professional education & higher skills. As of October 2022 the College is ranked number 3 in the world and a ‘7- Diamond’ organisation for global excellence and innovation by the global excellence benchmarking council, EFQM.

As a super-sized tertiary institution, City supports shipbuilding through four industry-led faculties delivering some 2000 programmes and supporting 230 industry sectors. It delivers agile up- and re-skilling (for example, re-skilling 17,000 employees during the pandemic, and its immediate recovery period); an annual pipeline of 8000 technological graduates; a doubling of apprenticeship enrolment to 2000; trail-blazing curriculum development (such as our new HND Shipbuilding); pioneering pedagogy (including simulation, AR,VR and ,Digital, STEM, blended & immersive learning); and new agile qualifications (micro-credentials that recognise hours rather than years of learning). Currently, City trains the majority of craft apprentices for the BAE Govan and Scotstoun shipyards while also providing expertise to develop BAE’s own on-site skills academy. We can also further support Fife College’s established local skills partnership with Babcock’s in Rosyth, especially by providing access to higher skills and STEM innovation.

City of Glasgow College brings significant and unique system leadership to UK and parts of global shipbuilding. Specifically, our CEO and Principal Dr Paul Little FRSE RNR is Chair of the UK’s 20-strong expert Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce1. In addition, our world-class tertiary institution has supported global maritime trade for almost 55 years, currently training one in two of all UK Merchant Navy Officers and most UK Ratings. City is a favoured Cadet Officer training establishment with most of the top 20 shipping companies and directly provides expert design and consultancy support to over 10 shipbuilding/ship management nations.

This submission draws attention to the need:

• to increase funding for, and further investment in, the revitalisation of both technical and technological skills and wider the skills infrastructure in both Scotland and across the UK;
• to highlight the need for a long-term symbiotic partnership with the shipbuilding sector, better to promote career opportunities for school leavers, for apprenticeships at all levels, for College and University graduates, and for lifetime learning & upskilling of the current and recently retired shipbuilding workforce, both industrial and professional.

• for Scotland to more clearly support the National Shipbuilding Office, its National Shipbuilding Strategy[1] and its recently established UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce thereby optimising Scotland’s economic development, social value and fair work opportunities, and reinforcing its status as the pre-eminent skills economy;
• for a clearer Demand signal from the NSO to trigger both the public and private sector investment needed to expand to shipbuilding workforce, and to avoid wage inflation and an unnecessary talent war with the interdependent manufacturing sectors of submarine, rail, air, offshore, energy transition and nuclear.

For its part, City will deliver an ambitious and sustainable pipeline of skilled talent, working closely with the National Shipbuilding Office (NSO), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Scottish Government. Through this submission, we should also like to extend an invitation for the Scottish Affairs Committee to both visit and hold one of its meetings at City of Glasgow College.

Our answers to the Committee’s specific questions are as follows:

Question 1

To what extent does the National Shipbuilding Strategy help to support a thriving shipbuilding industry in Scotland, and is it sufficiently funded to do so?

The refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS) sets out clearly the ambitions and targets required for a refresh of UK shipbuilding, and very much supports the shipbuilding industry both in Scotland and across the UK, with its lucid appreciation of the pivotal importance of skills. It has subsequently been reinforced by the establishment of a data-driven expert Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST) to advise on the creation of a 30-year sustainable pipeline of talent, and a clear desire for much greater collaboration in shipbuilding across the UK. The proposed £30 bn pipeline for some 150 future ships has been identified, with clear segmentation for each of the 4 Nations of the UK.

However, it is our judgement that Scotland is set play the foremost role in UK shipbuilding given its world-class pedigree, track record and formidable heritage in building many of the most famous ships in UK shipbuilding lore - and given its current expertise and shipbuilding infrastructure. We certainly believe that the Scottish shipbuilding industry will thrive to 2050.

However, it must be properly supported by both the Scottish and UK Governments to play this system leadership role. We must draw the Committee’s attention to the insufficient investment funding available to support Scottish shipyards of the future, and the insufficient funding in the Scottish (college) Skills System. We particularly endorse and draw the Committee’s attention to the findings of the Scottish Ministers’-commissioned Cumberford-Little report (2020), which recommended a rebalancing of tertiary funding to rebalance the shortfalls in the College sector. Furthermore the pre-requisite funding to underpin future skills must be sustained for the long-term; without it, the industrial and professional skills pipeline will be fatally compromised; this notwithstanding that the inclusive pipeline of skills will eclipse the opportunities for social mobility so far discussed for the Scottish life sciences or Space - given that the shipbuilding pipeline will necessarily include the full continuum of apprenticeship training, College and University graduates, and, significantly, a lifetime of upskilling and reskilling the current and recently retired workforce.

It is clear that the creation of the National Shipbuilding Office [2](NSO) has led to more focused discussions between Governments, industry and educational institutions and this has already helped achieve greater coherence and improved opportunities for economic growth.

City of Glasgow College’s proposed (maritime/shipbuilding) International Centre of Innovation Excellence could transform large-scale shipbuilding manufacturing by enabling technological innovation and future (digital) skills development. The Scottish model of regional colleges of scale is also an advantage in helping Scottish shipbuilding to thrive, with tailored apprenticeship and professional programmes.

Finally, we believe success in Scottish/UK shipbuilding is contingent on securing optimum and consistent levels of both public and private investment in the supply side, with an enhanced careers service for primary and secondary education, higher levels of funding in tertiary (college) skills/innovation, and in Shipyard investment.

Question 2

How much does Scottish shipbuilding rely on Scottish labour, and how much of that labour is drawn from local communities?

Scottish shipbuilding cannot succeed without addressing chronic shortages in labour and skills. This is a pernicious issue for our port cities, and our coastal and island communities. Historically Scottish shipbuilding has for generations drawn heavily from local shipbuilding communities, particularly along the River Clyde to Inverclyde.

The Maritime Skills Commission noted in its 2020 Labour Market Intelligence Report[3] that engineering skills - including students studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are frequently raised as a problem area, but the ‘exact nature of the problem is seldom defined with much precision.’ Shipbuilding enterprises, the NSO and STEM supply-side providers must collaborate more in understanding and then articulating these STEM skills and wider engineering and technological skills needs.

At present, BAE Systems places a heavy reliance on apprentices - in particular, shipbuilding craft apprentices. There are currently 16 apprenticeships available for BAE Systems’ shipbuilding industries, with the Level 7 programme delivered at City of Glasgow College. This apprenticeship workforce is essentially recruited from Scotland’s local communities.

Naval Ships building[4] in Scotland has certainly broadened the apprentice skill base across multiple disciplines. Any further targeted Scottish Government initiatives to support Scottish Shipbuilding through its National Strategy for Economy Transformation (NSET), Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) will be fully supported by City of Glasgow College whose track record of fast-track up- and re-skilling and delivering excellent higher-technological skills and professional education are hugely important assets.

Question 3

How much do Scottish shipbuilders source labour from outside the UK, and is it able to source the labour it needs from abroad at present?

One of the prime objectives of the UK Shipbuilding Taskforce is to establish a baseline understanding of the upskilling, reskilling and future needs to support a sustainable shipbuilding talent pipeline across all of the UK’s constituent nations. Currently, Scottish Naval Ship industries primarily employ Scottish shipbuilders, often preferring systematically to develop their workforce through various apprenticeship and graduate placement programmes. They supplement indigenous Scottish /UK workers with a regulated and much smaller number of primarily European mainland workers, contracted for fixed periods to address acute labour/skill shortages. The NSO’s refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy clearly highlights the need to maximize local Scottish shipbuilder workforce capacity and capabilities.

Question 4

The CSEU told us higher entry requirements could be a barrier to entry for young people from traditional shipbuilding communities from pursuing a career in shipbuilding. Has the College observed this, and what can be done to address it?

We note that the Confederation for Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) had emphasised that an ageing workforce and skills shortage represent challenges to the UK Government and employers, a view supported by the ‘Maritime 2050’ Report[5]. CSEU further elaborated that while apprentices are being brought in, their numbers are not adequate, and entry qualification requirements into the industry act as a barrier.

City of Glasgow College recognises this challenge across a range of industry sectors and therefore works directly with apprentice providers and Skills Development Scotland to advocate for a broader base of access routes to both the apprenticeship programme and directly into industry. In our experience, working in close symbiotic partnership with employers including with our industry academy model helps minimise such barriers. As a demand-led industry focused tertiary institution we provide business support, technological education and skills training (from entry level through to Master Technician/Craft and Chartered Professional levels) for over 2000 employers across 230 industry sectors.

City has many such initiative to support shipbuilding such as our ‘Engineering Access’ at SCQF level 6[6] course, that gives students the skills they need to progress and meet the higher qualification criteria to advanced level at college or university. This course is delivered in partnership with SWAP (Scottish Wider Access Programme)[7] ensuring preparation for articulation. Successful completion of the course allows the learner to apply to various university undergraduate engineering programs. Meanwhile, our ‘Engineering Academy’ access pathway with Strathclyde University allows second-year Engineering degree entry. Earlier in this submission to the Committee we also highlighted our BAE craft apprenticeship programme. All these tailored technological and skills programmes are underpinned by a long-term symbiotic partnership approach and help address the issues raised by CSEU.

Question 5

What are higher and further education institutions doing to encourage more diversity in the shipbuilding workforce?

Promoting greater diversity and inclusion is an important consideration of the ongoing deliberations of the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce – led by Principal Dr Paul Little. His expert Taskforce’s data driven approach, now in an evidence-gathering phase, will establish levels of diversity and inclusion on entry to and beyond in the UK Shipbuilding industry.

As a maritime and shipbuilding Nation, Scotland and the UK must make every effort to harness the diverse strengths and perspectives of the full talent pool. Poor gender diversity statistics makes clear that addressing diversity starts at a young age. The Department for Transport (DfT) is funding a ‘Maritime and Me’ [8] industry-led initiative to address the image and perception of the maritime sector and demonstrate how it can effectively showcase its value to a wider audience. Perhaps this initiative can be replicated for UK shipbuilding; it would help to break down stereotypes, especially in engaging with school-age children; fundamentally, it is important to promote and recruit from society at large or ‘the common weal’.

City stands as a beacon of excellence for equality, diversity, inclusiveness. We are working with the maritime careers taskforce and the ‘Diversity in Maritime Taskforce’ supporting networks for Women, Ethnicity, Pride and Mental Health. These partnerships will help encourage a greater diversity of new entrants into the Shipbuilding sector.

Question 6

What challenges do shipbuilders experience in retaining skilled labour, and what can be done to address them?

Again, this acute challenge of retaining skilled labour will be considered by the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce. That said, clearly a skilled workforce which is regularly upskilled and reskilled across a lifetime is vital to sustaining a world-class shipbuilding industry in Scotland and the UK. It will also be essential to optimise the adoption of the new manufacturing technologies of the future. We would encourage the shipbuilding industry and the leading supply side institutions to follow the lead of City of Glasgow College and embed the WorldSkills global skills benchmarking, where to excellence rather than competency is the priority. Doing so will help the shipbuilding industry to become a more attractive global employer and safeguard the ongoing technical and professional development of workers, enhancing retention and ultimately ensuring that the industry across its multiple domains always has the right skills in the right place at the right time. As a UK centre of excellence for the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development, City can assist the shipbuilding industry to develop more meaningful employee engagement initiatives; more tailored rewards and recognition programmes; advise on career pathways to progression, best practice in wellbeing, and flexible working.

Question 7

What skills are the shipyards of the future going to need?

The future skills needed for the 30-year pipeline identified by the National Shipbuilding Office is an important and live consideration of the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST) which has established an expert workstream to consider this along with a parallel workstream considering future innovation requirements.

The Covid-19 crisis impacted most industry sectors, with shipbuilding experiencing a fall of 80% in new orders for European companies in 2020[9] and a loss of older experienced workers to illness and economic inactivity. Such losses further compounded Brexit immigration concerns and exacerbated inherent fragilities within the industry’s skills ecosystem.

The progressive Digital Transformation of the shipbuilding industry will necessitate greater usage and faster adoption of: Robotics, Big Data, Predictive Analytics & Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Photonics ,Sensor Technologies,  Cyber & Data Security, Ecommerce & logistics, 3D and 4D printing and Naval Architecture 4.0. Similarly, ESG and Net Zero pressures will expedite the adoption of Advanced Energy Generation / Carbon capture skills, together with those skills underpinning the safe handling of new fuel and clean energy technologies.

But additionally, the future shipbuilding industry will continue to require essential craft and hand skills augmented - but not necessarily replaced - by emerging technologies. Many of the highly sought after blue-collar or industrial skills will still be needed for the foreseeable future including welding; forming and fitting; pipe-fitting, integration, soldering, painting and fit-out, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, health & safety and site supervision to list but a few.

Question 8

How much is the shipbuilding sector be affected by automation in the future?

As detailed in our response to question 7, Digitalisation and Automation are already impacting positively on shipbuilding including on design capabilities and production technologies.

Greater adoption of automated technologies and the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) combined with further investment – in the Scottish and UK College Skills systems will ensure Scotland and the UK can regain competitiveness and perhaps system leadership in new-build ship design, engineering, modularisation, construction and maintenance. In general, in recent years, all six main stages of shipbuilding (steel material processing, block assembly, outfitting, hull erection, commissioning and trial trip) have benefited from automation though this has also added to an intensification of global market competitiveness. Technology transfer & adoption is set to increase the productivity of small and medium-sized shipyards (SMEs), with research on the introduction of new technologies to shipyards also forecasted to increase[10].

Shipyards will also see a greater uptake of Human-Robot Interaction (HRC) in the future, particularly associated with assembly and semi-automatic welding.

Question 9

How much do the UK and Scottish Government engage with the education sector about the workforce needs of the shipbuilding sector in Scotland?

The UK Government has previously accepted that the maritime sector is facing a skills shortage. UK Government recognition of the challenges and opportunities ahead can be evidenced by the creation of the National Shipbuilding Office (NSO), especially the important work of the Department for Education (DfE) supporting the recently established (July 2022) and ground-breaking ‘UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce’ (UKSST), led by the CEO & Principal of City of Glasgow College. The final UKSST report is due in September 2023 and its work will conclude in December 2023.[11]

The UKSST works collaboratively across the UK Government, all 4 constituent Nations, all relevant industry and training providers to develop a future-focused and solutions-focused National shipbuilding skills blueprint.

By comparison, the Scottish Government has shown less engagement with the needs of Scottish shipbuilding. However, Skills Development Scotland and City of Glasgow College are making a pivotal contribution. The Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism & Enterprise has been kept fully briefed and a meeting is being arranged in the New Year with the Deputy First Minister and the CEO of NSO together with the Chair of UKSST. Dr Little has also kept officials from SG’s Department of Transport briefed.

Question 10

Do the skills policies of the UK and Scottish Government complement each other to support the development of the shipbuilding workforce?

For well over a decade there has been a divergence in the skills policies and skills funding of the 4 constituent Nations of the UK. However, the establishment of the NSO (National Shipbuilding Office) and subsequent establishment of a UK-wide Shipbuilding Skills Task Force will provide an invaluable platform to promote and sustain greater coherence in the development of the shipbuilding workforce. This is an important development given that sizeable constituent parts of both the blue collar/industrial and white collar/professional workforce are mobile. Moreover, many of the craft and technical specialisms underpinning shipbuilding are interdependent with specialisms enabling the simultaneously complementary but competing industrial sectors of: submarine, rail, offshore, energy transition and nuclear sectors.

The presence of the NSO office in Edinburgh should help alignment with the Scottish Government policy priorities.

Question 11

How could collaboration between the UK and Scottish Governments and education institutions be improved?

The UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST) will bring much-needed focus, coordination and collaboration to the supply chain of skills especially for UK shipbuilding. While skills is a devolved matter, the Scottish Government is currently benefitting from a 4-Nations College Alliance which published a “Developing a Four Nations College Blueprint report” (2019) highlighting helpful good practice for mutual learning. In the wake of Covid, England is exploring a less market-based skills delivery approach similar to the more managed system approach favoured by Scotland, N Ireland and Wales. Important collaboration, mutual learning and benchmarking between the UK Skills Systems also exists through engagement with Worldskills (UK), cited in our response to question 6.

END

November 2022