SCOTTISH Education Minister Helen Liddell yesterday launched a 10-point action plan setting out the Government's vision for lifelong education.

As exclusively revealed in The Herald yesterday, Opportunity Scotland aims to introduce a raft of measures by 2002 to encourage adults to continue to learn throughout their lives.

However, the Scottish Liberal Democrats accused Mrs Liddell of stealing their policies and said the plans would not work without adequate funding.

Key features of the blueprint include an investment of more than #100m to help an extra 42,000 students take part in further and higher education.

A Scottish University for Industry and a national system of Individual Learning Accounts for 100,000 people will be launched. There will also be a #6m pilot project to help up to 3000 unemployed and low-income part-time students to pay their fees as well as developing new courses.

Schools, libraries, and higher education institutions will be connected to a National Grid for Learning, and 15,000 young apprentice positions will be set up.

Speaking at a Cosla conference on lifelong learning in Stirlingshire, Mrs Liddell said: ''It has never been more important for people to continue learning in adulthood, no matter how much or how little they achieved at school.

''Adults need to develop and update their skills to thrive in the modern labour market. Opportunity Scotland presents our agenda for post-16 education and skills development in Scotland over the next few years. It sets out our vision of a society where every citizen has the right to access learning at any stage of their life.''

Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesman Donald Gorrie said: ''It is always good to see that Government Ministers have been reading our manifesto - some of the plans have been lifted directly from it. What is now needed is a conversion to our funding policies because these improvements simply cannot be achieved on present funding levels.''

Margaret Vaughan Page 21