New funding to unlock skills partnerships across Scotland

Major new investment will help open up more opportunities for people across Scotland by creating partnerships that improve access to higher education.

The Open University in Scotland has secured support through the Scottish Funding Council’s University Transformation Framework to expand its ‘Catalyst Centre’ partnerships with five colleges.

Over the next three years, the programme will create more accessible learning opportunities and clearer progression routes to degree-level study, helping learners gain higher-level qualifications while remaining in their local communities.

The investment comes at a pivotal moment as Scotland prepares for unprecedented growth linked to renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure and innovation-led industries, and The Open University in Scotland is developing a model which makes real the tertiary potential of university-college partnerships.

Martin Boyle, Principal of The Open University in Scotland, said: “This funding unlocks groundbreaking and innovative new partnerships across the country, supporting The Open University in Scotland to work with some of our key partner colleges to create new student opportunities.

This funding unlocks groundbreaking and innovative new partnerships across the country, supporting The Open University in Scotland to work with some of our key partner colleges."
Martin Boyle, Principal of The Open University in Scotland

“Scotland’s colleges operate at the heart of their communities, transforming lives and providing routes into work. 

“I am confident that working hand-in-hand with Scotland’s national university for widening access and lifelong learning creates an exciting new template for meeting Scotland’s skills needs.

“Each of the five new partnerships will look and feel unique, creating a bespoke approach which meets each region’s particular needs while tapping into our world-leading digital education and research.

“Each college has an important and complementary social mission which fits well with our ongoing commitment to improving skills and enhancing links right across Scotland.”

Rather than requiring learners to relocate to pursue higher education or professional development, the initiative will expand flexible learning opportunities that allow people to study, work and remain within their own communities, with The Open University in Scotland developing a unique package in partnership with each college.

The approach is expected to play an increasingly important role in addressing workforce shortages across priority sectors, unlock new partnership tertiary delivery models, and explore new ways of working in collaboration. 

Flexible “earn and learn” pathways will enable learners to combine employment with study, helping people gain qualifications while continuing to contribute to their local economies.

Working alongside five college partners, the expanded Catalyst Centre programme will develop bespoke regional approaches that respond to local economic priorities.

The funding forms part of the Scottish Funding Council’s University Transformation Framework, which supports collaborative projects designed to strengthen Scotland’s tertiary education sector, improve student pathways and enhance long-term sustainability.

The Open University in Scotland’s project demonstrates how collaboration can widen access for learners."
Helen Cross, Director of Investment and Research at the Scottish Funding Council

The Open University in Scotland’s proposal is one of seven university-led projects approved for support through the framework.

Helen Cross, Director of Investment and Research at the Scottish Funding Council, said: “The Open University in Scotland’s project demonstrates how collaboration can widen access and create clearer pathways for learners. 

“By expanding its Catalyst Centre partnerships with colleges, the project will help more students progress to degree-level study. 

“This is exactly the kind of innovative partnership the University Transformation Framework is designed to support.”

The initiative reinforces the Open University’s longstanding mission to widen access to education and ensure learners from every part of Scotland can benefit from emerging opportunities.

As investment accelerates across Scotland’s key growth industries, the partnerships will help local people develop the knowledge, qualifications and confidence needed to secure skilled careers and contribute to the long-term prosperity of their regions.