Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, has announced the appointments to the first Board of Skills Development Scotland, Scotland's new skills body.  The members are: Evelyn McCann, William Stevely, Anne Douglas, Janet Lowe, Alan McGregor and Cay Stratton.

In making the announcement, the Cabinet Secretary said, "Following the recent appointment of Willy Roe as Chair of Skills Development Scotland I am pleased to now announce the Non-Executive Members of the Board. Together they bring a wealth of experience and skills which will greatly benefit SDS in its first years and drive forward the necessary work to effect a step change in skills development in Scotland."

Click here to view the full news release.

The Alliance Scotland has advertised two new posts in the Scotsman today.  One is for a Communications and Marketing Officer (c.£19,000), the other an Administrator (c.£15,000).  Each of these posts will be based at our offices in Edinburgh.

If you are interested in either of these posts email Karen Nimmo for more information on the roles and the application process. 

Women from North East and Central Scotland gathered in Forfar recently to share ideas and experiences; and explore business opportunities for women in modern rural industries. Forty five women from rural businesses attended the confidence building seminar which was organised by Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for land-based industries.

Lantra Regional Partnership Manager Mary Mitchell said: "We hope to use the success of this event to start a pilot project across Scotland which will encourage and develop the potential of business women within rural industries."  View the full press release here.

The UK water industry has received a major expansion in the Apprenticeship opportunities it can now offer to young people and adult learners.

Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) has been working with regulated water utility companies and utility contractors to design new Apprenticeships that are now approved for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The new water industry Apprenticeships now include a broader choice of Scottish and National Vocational Qualifications (S/NVQs), which in turn underpin a wider range of job roles including all aspects of wastewater treatment operations, water network and sewerage networks. Successful completion ensures every Apprentice will achieve the knowledge and competence standards required by industry for these job roles. Click here.

This year will be the inaugural year for the SQA Star Award for Skills Competitor of the year 2008.  This is intended to recognise an individual who has excelled themselves personally or professionally through striving for success at a Skills Competition - whether recognised by UK Skills or not.  The full criteria can be found at the following website where nominations can also be made.

The deadline for nominations is 27 June 2008.  For more information click here.

Skills for Care and Development are featured in this week's Sector Focus in the Scotsman newspaper.  The SSC highlights its role in engaging with employers to better understand the skills needs of the social care sector.

LEOPlus is one of twelve projects that are part financed by the European Commission to consider how to generate greater mobility of vocational trainees and apprentices in Europe.  The project in Scotland is coordinated by SFEU.  A consultation is underway to explore the challenges in engaging SMEs with such mobility programmes.  To find out more, click here, and to complete the survey, click here.

Scotland's universities are getting better at retaining the students they recruit. Figures published today on behalf of the UK's four higher education funding bodies show that the number of students continuing beyond their first year at a Scottish university is rising. The proportion of full-time students who start a degree course and are projected to receive an award from their original place of study or elsewhere has also increased. More.

SkillsActive has announced that Stephen Studd will become Group Chief Executive to lead a restructuring process in preparation for re-licensing and the 2012 Olympics. This group will include a National Skills Academy. More.

The new Alliance website is now live.  Please bear with us whilst we transport our existing content to the new site.  If you need to access Modern Apprenticeship framework paperwork please contact Iain_McCaskey.

Click here for newsletters on sector skills and learning.