Today’s world is ever-changing and fast-paced, and young people should be provided with a versatile education that can keep up, so they can have a future in which they can thrive. The average person will spend 13 years in formal education before transitioning to the world of work, where they will spend double or triple the time they spent in education. Despite recent recommendations from various reviews of Scotland's Education and Skills system, the current system continues to place greater emphasis on academic attainment, where exams assess theoretical knowledge with only a weak connection to real-world applications, rather than focusing on skills, abilities, and broader achievements.

Whereas, in the workplace, there are very few formal assessments and employees are evaluated on their performance, skills and abilities. A cursory perusal of job sites will show that experience is the most valuable quality a potential employee can possess. Educational attainment often accompanies this requirement as a fashionable minimum requirement with no specialisation demanded.

As each year passes it is increasingly evident that young people need more than exam results alone to achieve success. The following question then asks itself: Is our Scottish Education system meeting the needs of our future workforce? Throughout my career, I have been invested in the development of young people. This has included ensuring the technical competence and development of engineering apprentices and grad.