Waving pupils off at the tender age of 16 causes mixed emotions for teachers. Pride in their achievements, hope for their future and relief that you won’t have to stand in front of that class again on Monday morning.

But soon, those students might not be able to wave goodbye to education and training for a further two years. Thinktank IPPR Scotland has recommended that the school leaving age should be raised to 18, and that every young person under 21 should be engaged in either education or training. The proposal comes as the IPPR concludes that Scotland’s skills system isn’t prepared to deal with the disruption that the rise of automation will cause to the economy. The thinktank claims that ensuring we have the skills needed for the future could cost a whopping £225 million each year by 2025.

It calls for an additional 100,000 learners over the age of 21 to be engaged in the skills system each year by 2024, which would mean participation rates in Scotland were among the best in Europe. This would cost £200 million a year. The other £25 million would be spent on an enhanced “Individual Training Account”, which would fund training aimed at boosting pay and delivering promotions for 30,000 workers each year.

Russell Gunson, the director of IPPR Scotland, said that the focus of the past 30 years had been on expanding higher education to help the country transition to a “knowledge-led” economy. The next step should be expanding lifelong learning to take full advantage of the opportunities of automation and an ageing population.

“By investing in in-work training, and delivering no less than a revolution in lifelong learning over the coming years, Scotland can be among the best prepared in the world to take the opportunities on offer from ageing, automation and technological change over the coming years, delivering a stronger economy that builds justice in at its heart,” he said.