Call to lift leaving age to 18

Ministers are being urged to scrap the school leaving age of 16 and instead bring in a requirement that young people stay in learning, in either the classroom or the workplace, until they are 18.

The IPPR Scotland think tank made the call as it published a new report on the impact automation and ageing could have on the country.

Director Russell Gunson said: “Aside from Brexit, pre- paring for automation and ageing should be the top priority for Scotland.”

The additional investment in skills and training needed to prepare for automation could reach £250 million a year by 2025, which IPPR Scotland said should be split between the public and private sectors.

Almost half (46 per cent) of all jobs in Scotland have the potential to be changed in coming years as a result of automation, which has been dubbed the fourth industrial revolution.