A report published today by the Parliament's powerful Audit Committee has criticised the Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise over the management and effectiveness of the £70 million a year youth training programme Skillseekers.

Announcing publication of the report convener Andrew Welsh said:

"Some £70 million of Scottish Enterprise's funding is directed at youth training through Skillseekers. Since qualification levels are a crucial contributory factor to the competitiveness of the economy, it is essential that this expenditure is well directed and applied to best effect.

"One of the main purposes of this committee's inquiry was to establish whether the Skillseekers programme achieves additionality - that is, generates training activity that would not otherwise happen were it not for the programme.

"Evidence presented to us by the National Audit Office (NAO) suggested that up to three-quarters, and certainly half of employers participating in Skillseekers would have recruited and trained young people to Vocational Qualifications (VQ) standards without support from the programme. It is also the case that 53 per cent of employers would not reduce their level of training if support was halved.

"NAO evidence indicates that half the trainees in one study had not achieved a VQ. Therefore, in that case up to £3m annual expenditure may have been spent on training where the trainees made only limited progress. This looks like wasted expenditure.

"It is crucial that the Local Enterprise Companies who deliver Skillseekers training develop a better understanding of why young people leave the programme and whether improvements can be made in the light of this information.

"Qualification achievement rates have been monitored by Scottish Enterprise since 1997/8 and a target has been set for 2000/1 for 50 per cent of starts to achieve a VQ within 3 years. However, the NAO found that half the 1996/7 starts had achieved a VQ, which casts the 2000/1 target in a less than challenging light.

"Throughout our inquiry we were struck by the historic lack of data underpinning Scottish Enterprise's expenditure decisions. Quite clearly their management systems deliver insufficient information on the actual costs of training and the achievements of trainees.

"We were alarmed at the arms-length attitude of the Scottish Executive who have a vital interest in ensuring that government policy is delivered at optimum value for money. This attitude displays a lack of care for the lost opportunities for certain young people who do not get the most out of the Skillseekers programme."

The principal recommendations from the committee's report include:

• the level of additionality achieved by the Skillseekers programme should be monitored on a regular basis, targets should be set for improvement in the level of additionality and action should be taken to encourage more employers who are not participants in the Skillseekers programme to provide training to VQ standards;
• attainment targets for the proportion of trainees achieving a VQ should be tested in the light of information to be gathered on the reasons why young people leave the Skillseekers programme and the improvements identified from that information;
• the Scottish Executive should take an active interest in ensuring that Scottish Enterprise fulfil their promises for improving management information and provide the Audit Committee with a report on whether they are fully satisfied that the information is sufficiently accurate by April 2001;
• the follow-up survey of trainees leaving Skillseekers should be improved to ensure that the essential information required to analyse the outcomes of training is available to monitor improvement through the use of targets relating to employability.

The full text of the committee's report is available on the Parliament's website (address below). Printed copies can be purchased from outlets of the Stationery Office.

BACKGROUND NOTES

The Audit Committee's membership is as follows: Convener: Andrew Welsh (SNP). Brian Adam (SNP), Scott Barrie (Lab), Cathie Craigie (Lab), Annabel Goldie (Con), Margaret Jamieson (Lab), Nick Johnston (Con), Lewis Macdonald (Lab), Paul Martin (Lab), Euan Robson (LD), Andrew Wilson (SNP).