Funding for Fresh Talent

The Scottish Government is to invest a further £300,000 in projects which prepare international students living in Scotland for the workplace and support migrant workers to integrate into Scottish life.

Europe, External Affairs and Culture Minister Linda Fabiani announced the funding for schemes which aim to attract fresh talent by encouraging international students and graduates to stay on in Scotland.

Linda Fabiani said:

"Scotland is clearly positioned as a leading choice for international students thanks to our world-class education system. However we have to ensure that the thousands of  international students who choose to study at our universities and colleges get the right support and opportunities to enable them to stay on in Scotland, create a more diverse and skilled workforce and contribute to our economy.

"We want to ensure that international graduates find suitable and rewarding employment here in Scotland, bringing key skills to our businesses and contributing towards growing Scotland’s economy.. This new funding will enable initiatives to focus specifically on employability and will bring about real benefits for our employers.  

"I am aware that many migrant workers also have valuable skills that can be applied more effectively in our labour market, That is why we will launch a similar fund to offer more integration support for these workers in the coming months.

"The Scottish Government is committed to attracting bright, hardworking and motivated people to live, work and study in Scotland and I look forward to seeing the benefits for our economy and wider society that will grow from this round of the Challenge Fund."

The International Students Challenge Fund,will focus on projects aimed at increasing the employability of international students. The funding is being made available to universities and colleges in Scotland to support projects in the 2008-09 academic year.

In the coming months it will also be extended for the first time to include projects aimed at helping migrant workers integrate into Scottish life.

Background on Fresh Talent

The Fresh Talent Initiative was established in response to demographic projections showing Scotland’s population is ageing & projected to decline. The key objective is to attract and retain bright, motivated and hard working people to live, work and study to support economic growth.

The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme (FT: WISS) was launched in June 2005 and enables successful applicants to stay and work in Scotland for two years after the end of their course without the need for a work permit. Since the scheme was launched, 6281 people from over 100 countries have successfully applied to live and work in Scotland.

In spring 2008 the scheme will be incorporated into the UK-wide Tier One – Post Study category of the new points based system for managed migration.

The Fresh Talent: Supporting International Students Challenge Fund launched in April 2005 supports activities aimed at helping international students settle into life in Scotland and learn about opportunities available to them at the end of their studies.

The Fund is open to all further and higher education institutions in Scotland which are active in international student recruitment. To date the Fund has provided £700,000 of funding to support 56 projects.

The closing date for applications for projects focusing on employability of students and graduates is May 2, 2008 with successful projects being announced by July 2008. Download the Challenge Fund application form and Challenge Fund information for full details.

There are a total of 37,125 non-UK  students in Scottish institutions – 12,575 from other EU countries and 24,550 from non-EU countries – according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency report of 2006/07.

Full information about funding for projects supporting integration of migrant workers will be made available in the coming months.

Challenge Fund Main Page

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