Opposition MSPs have criticised the government for failing to listen to concerns about a skills gap in Scotland’s technology sector.

Labour and Tory failed to pass amendments yesterday as MSPs debated the motion Scotland as a Technology Nation at Holyrood.

Labour MSP Daniel Johnson and Tory MSP Brian criticised innovation minister Richard Lochhead, who put forward the debate, for failing to gauge the shortfalls in education which “underpin” and are “at the heart” of the tech industry.

Tory MSP Liam Kerr said the “utter failure” of the minister to mention education showed “complacency on an industrial scale”.

Both oppositions parties focused on the need to tackle the skills gap, the decreasing number of computing science teachers and the lack of funding, to ensure Scotland is not “left behind” as a tech nation.

Whittle labelled the funding cuts to agencies like the Scottish Funding Council, which suffered a £100m blow to their budget in the Scottish budget 2024/25, as one of root causes for the decreasing uptake in tech career.

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