Skills Development Scotland and the SGSSS will support up to three new PhD studentships from the 2021/2022 academic year. Their research will provide new knowledge and insights to help advance the understanding of key skills issues from a Scottish perspective.

The purpose of the SDS-SGSSS PhD scheme is to engage with the academic community to support the production of new, high-quality research focused on the Scottish labour market. The scheme is led by supervisors, and designed to:

• Contribute to the development of a cadre of high-quality academic researchers with a deep knowledge of the Scottish skills landscape
• Provide SDS with access to high-quality academic research around topics of longer-term interest
• Increase the range and scope of SDS engagement with academic experts in support of skills policy

Please read the guidance carefully, paying particular attention to the role of SDS in recruitment and project support. For the 2020/21 competition, proposals are invited on the following research topics:

• Virtual models of working and the implications for Careers Information, Advice and Guidance
• Harnessing big data to identify viable and desirable job transition pathways for disrupted workers
• Social and cultural factors affecting gender imbalance in apprenticeships
• How machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can enhance Labour Market Intelligence (LMI)

Applications should be submitted via our applications portal, GradHub by 12pm on 30 October 2020. An overview of the competition timeline can be found below. Please register for GradHub as soon as possible to avoid any delay as accounts are approved manually, during office hours.