Scotland’s financial services sector will be able to draw upon a larger pool of talented young people in the coming years.

Speaking ahead of a debate taking place in Edinburgh, Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment Angela Constance highlighted how college reform and the work of the Wood Commission could strengthen the financial services workforce, alongside the development of the financial services market.

She said:

“Over the course of the last few years, Scotland’s financial services sector has been home to hundreds of Modern Apprentices (MAs), part of the 77,402 new opportunities delivered over the past three years, far more than any other period in the history of the qualification.

“This month has seen the publication of the final report by the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce, which has included a range of recommendations on how MAs could be further enhanced.

“While discussions with our partners in local government and elsewhere on the detail of the report continue, I see the report as a real opportunity for the sector to draw upon the skills of Scotland’s enthusiastic and talented young women and men and to engage proactively with schools and colleges to boost their future workforce.

“Colleges are already working more closely with business to align their courses with employer need and I fully expect this work to broaden the pool of individuals both attracted and attractive to the sector.

“In Scotland’s Future we have already outlined how independence would bring a real opportunity for our financial services to benefit from economic levers to boost investment and growth, as well as a regulatory framework more aligned to the needs of the Scottish consumers and Scottish business.

“Placing the sector at the centre of a well-functioning Scottish economy with the very best of Scotland’s young workforce at its core suggests a very bright future for Scotland’s financial services sector.”