Employers back Scotland's young people

More than 1500 Scottish businesses are tackling youth unemployment.

The Certificate of Work Readiness was launched last year to help young people prove they are ready for work. Employers are responsible for the assessment, which will determine whether they can gain the SQA accredited qualification.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has already adapted the work experience programme at Edinburgh Zoo to meet the qualification criteria. The first recruits start their training on 5 May.

Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women's Employment, Angela Constance said: "As an employer with a huge variety of positions, the Zoo is a fantastic environment for young people to learn in. Adopting the Certificate of Work Readiness shows organisations are committed to offering high quality training and work experience which benefits future prospective employers, our economy and of course the trainees themselves.

READ MORE

Businesses must play part to help young into work

There’s a palpable sense of confidence in the Scottish economy: from the housing market to manufacturing, all the indicators are good.

But look beyond the headlines, and cracks begin to appear in this veneer of positivity. Despite the UK’s return to growth, unemployment among people aged 16-24 remains as high as one in four in many of our towns and cities.

According to a report by think-tank the Work Foundation, Glasgow has the third-highest rate of youth unemployment in the UK. Edinburgh, slightly better but not much, was listed as having between 17 per cent and 21 per cent of its young people not currently in employment.

The report called on national and local government to do more to work with educators and businesses to improve access to apprenticeships and work placements, and provide more careers guidance to young people.

As an employer of many young people in Scotland, we wholeheartedly support the ambitions of the Work Foundation in its moves to improve the situation for the next generation of the workforce.

Tayburn’s Deep End programme is being launched next month, providing two-month-long paid placements for graduates. It’s a rolling programme that will run throughout the year. We’ll be providing our interns with real-world experience of deadlines and client briefs, to help them bridge the gap between academically taught and commercially applied creativity.

Read full press release on The Scotsman, click here

Supporting people to Get Connected

Young people from ethnic minority communities in Glasgow are being helped to find apprenticeships and training opportunities as part of a new campaign.

Community groups and charities are being shown how to get the most from careers websites run by national training body Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

The project is run in partnership with BEMIS Scotland, the national umbrella organisation for the Ethnic Minorities third sector.

The training workshops follow 'Get Connected' in Glasgow which attracted more 50 training providers, ethnic minority groups and organisations that support disabled people.

Head of National Training Programmes development with SDS, Karen Murray, said: "Our aim is to get under-represented groups more involved in training opportunities and the Modern Apprenticeship programme."

Careers website My World of Work provides information about Modern Apprenticeships, training programmes, the types of jobs available across Scotland, support for building CVs and applying for work.

Read the full press release on Skills Development Scotland's website, click here

Bike project receives youth employment accolade!

Trainees at a business which helps young people get back on track have given a thumbs up to the project.

The youths involved says Shetland Community Bike Project has given them skills and confidence for the workplace.

The project has been recognised Scotland-wide and was named Skills Development Scotland’s Youth Employer of the Month for its role in providing employment and volunteering opportunities for young people facing barriers to work. That includes things such as mental health, drug or alcohol-related issues.

Since being set up in 1999, the Shetland Community Bike Project has achieved a 75 per cent success rate in finding work for its trainees once their six-month course is up. The last intake was 100 per cent successful in finding work and were still in employment after six-months, project manager Caroline Adamson said.

Alvar Foster, who was referred by the Jobcentre, and had no previous experience of bike repairing said the project was good fun and should offer real advantages to the young unemployed seeking a job.

He added: “I think the benefits are that it lets people who would not necessarily be very employable get experience working so that they can then go on and have further employment.

“It is a good place for you to go if you have not got much experience. It shows me what having a job is like. If I can get the mind-set down then it should probably help with further interviews and gives you general skills. And you can do specific skills if you want a specific job working on bikes.”

Read more on the Shetland Times by clicking here

Limited places available at Holyrood's Apprenticeship Conference - 22nd May

Apprenticeships: Upskilling the nation and building our economy
22^nd May 2014, Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh

Opening Address by: Rt.Hon.Henry McLeish, Former First Minister of Scotland

Closing keynote by: Angela Constance MSP, Minister for Youth Employment, The Scottish Government

Other speakers include:
Nicki Moore, Lecturer in Career Development, International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby
Damien Yeates, Chief Executive, Skills Development Scotland

For many the image of the apprentice is that of a young person who works as a plumber or a carpenter, but this is no longer the experience of many in Scotland who access the Modern Apprenticeships programme.

Nearly 36,000 people were in a Modern Apprenticeship in Scotland in March 2013 and they have been learning new skills and gaining valuable experience in subjects as diverse as biotechnology, life sciences and oil and gas extraction - areas which are already key contributors within the Scottish economy and with potential for growth.

With higher level apprenticeships offering new and exciting opportunities to upskill Scotland’s workforce and stimulate economic growth, this conference will explore how we can maximise this potential.

The conference will look at the growing skills gap in specialist sectors such as life sciences, advanced engineering, renewable energy and the oil and gas industry and the role of Modern Apprenticeships in addressing these gaps.

The day will also provide opportunities for you to discuss and debate best practice in helping all those with an interest in skills to work together to ensure that high end apprenticeships result in long term benefits for both the apprentice and the employer.

Limited places left at discounted rate of £129+VAT – please quote "APPSCOT" at our online booking site.

New goal of 30,000 modern apprentices a year by 2020

Apprentices Scotland currently has a target of delivering 25,000 modern apprenticeships a year

Scotland's modern apprenticeship programme will expand to provide work for 30,000 young people a year by 2020, the first minister has announced.

Alex Salmond told the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) in Dundee that "significant progress" was being made in fighting youth unemployment.

The annual target for new modern apprenticeships is currently 25,000.

Mr Salmond also announced a £4m three-year funding deal for lifelong learning programmes for union members.

He said the expansion of the modern apprentices scheme was a mark of how successful it had been so far.

Read more on BBC News Scotland