Following the Draft Budget for 2024/25 which came to the Scottish Parliament on 19 December 2023 it has been confirmed that there is no funding available for the Flexible Workforce Development Fund during this academic year, 2023/24. Decisions on academic year 2024/25 have still to be made.

Shona Struthers, Chief Executive of Colleges Scotland said:

“It’s extremely disappointing that there is no funding available for academic year 2023/24 for the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF).

“The fact that employers won’t be able to access this much-needed fund for training and development of their staff is a blow for the economy and directly impacts on colleges’ delivery of key government priorities.

“The FWDF funding stream has engaged thousands of businesses locally and regionally with Scotland’s colleges. The majority of colleges have lengthy waiting lists from employers to access training opportunities facilitated by FWDF – demonstrating both the benefits and necessity of the FWDF to both SMEs and the college sector.“