Liberal Democrat Enterprise spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has warned the Scottish Government that failing to address properly the future skills needs of the life science sector would be a “betrayal of one of Scotland’s world class sectors”.

Mr McArthur made the warning as the Education Secretary visited the planned site of the new £10million Life Sciences Institute.

Commenting, Mr McArthur said:

“The Scottish life science sector faces intense international competition. Attractive though a photo opportunity at the site of the new Life Science Institute may be, the Education Secretary would be better advised to spend her time working on a revised Skills Strategy to support the sector.

“Liberal Democrats in government worked hard to develop the life science industry, now a key component of Scotland’s economy. The Life Science Strategy and Advisory Group, along with co-investment funding were some of the significant improvements that contributed to the growth of the sector.

“The Scottish Government’s original Skills Strategy was rejected by Parliament and the SNP are still resisting calls to bring forward revised proposals. If the SNP fails to address properly the future skills needs of the life science sector, it would be a serious betrayal of our genuinely world class potential in this area.”