A key principle that the Scottish Conservative party stands behind is that opportunities should be equal for everybody.
Everyone should have the same chance to succeed, regardless of where you are from, where you went to school or what your parents did.
As the Shadow Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, I am a passionate advocate of that principle and I consistently press the SNP in the Scottish Parliament on the need to create more exciting opportunities for each and every young person to succeed.
Last February, I raised an Audit Scotland report that highlighted how little progress has been made on skills alignment due to the lack of leadership and oversight by the Scottish Government.
In March 2022, I then lead my first members business debate on the need to stress the importance of apprenticeships and the opportunities that they afford learners.
In recent months, I have challenged the Scottish Government to do more on this issue on no fewer than five separate occasions - only for my concerns to fall on deaf ears.
And just this week, I spoke in a debate about the College Regionalisation Inquiry in the aftermath of the Withers Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape in Scotland.
I raised the cases and comments of young people who feel the system is holding them back.
The concerns I hear every week from young constituents and parents were echoed in the Withers Review.
That detailed, independent report found the learning landscape in Scotland is too cluttered. It outlined that there are too many public agencies who are not helping young people in the way that they should. The report said a “radical rethink” of the skills system was necessary, so we can capitalise on the job opportunities in a changing economy.
I fully agree with those findings. It has been very clear to me - throughout my many meetings with young people, colleges, and universities - that systemic issues are limiting the effectiveness of skills development programmes and preventing educational institutes from innovating and thriving.
It is obviously detrimental when the SNP Government cuts education budgets, as it did recently when it slashed funding to the Scottish college and university sector by £46 million, but the problems run much deeper than purely financial issues.
I believe the problems begin with the established view that higher education is the main route to getting ahead in life. Many people in government and across society mistakenly think that going to college, starting an apprenticeship or going straight into work is somehow not as good as going to university.
While university can be the right choice for many young people, it is not the be-all and end-all. For some, it is the wrong choice entirely.
I didn’t go to university straight out of school. Neither did Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross. Neither did thousands upon thousands of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and other successful people.
We should be sending out a message loud and clear that apprenticeships, on-the-job training and college places can be every bit as valuable as going to university. There should be no stigma in choosing not to go straight to university.
That’s one of the reasons why earlier this year I chose to hold Apprenticeship of the Year awards competition, to recognise some of the young people who are really standing out and becoming vital parts of the organisations they have joined.
But we need everybody to change how they view education. We don’t only need the government to start properly valuing other routes forward, such as a college or an apprenticeship place. We also need them to start promoting lifelong learning and encouraging people to keep upgrading their skills.
The economy is changing at such a pace that we can’t afford to stand still as a nation. Our workforce must be constantly evolving to meet future expectations and opportunities. We should be encouraging people in the middle of their careers to go back and study, to keep building their knowledge, to work hard towards earning more qualifications. And I’m practising what I preach in this regard because while I didn’t go to university straight out of school, I have since worked towards a PhD, which I will complete this year.
When it comes to skills development, we need the government to be much more open-minded about the opportunities that people need as they tackle the systemic issues that are holding people back.
They need to value apprenticeships more. They need to put a higher value on college places. And they need to promote learning for life, not only for 18 to 22 year olds.
