Young people across the Forth Valley are to benefit following a successful bid for funding for a Forth Valley Developing the Young Workforce Group.
As part of the national Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Youth Employment Strategy, regional groups are being created across the whole of Scotland to help support young people into employment.
Making the announcement during a visit to the Forth Valley College Stirling campus today (Wednesday 9th March) Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham said:
“I am delighted today to be launching not just one, but five, Developing Young Workforce regional groups. There is nothing more worthwhile than protecting the future of our young people and the establishment of these employer-led groups across the whole of Scotland really do make a difference.
“Having local business leaders engaged and willing to help shape education and training to meet their own needs and the needs of local young people, creates invaluable opportunities for youth to flourish through gaining employment and learning new skills.”
The Forth Valley DYW Regional Board will focus on various priorities, including supporting partnerships between education providers and local businesses, improving work experience opportunities, encouraging the uptake of modern apprentices and supporting curricular activities that lead to meaningful qualifications and accreditations.
The host organisation for the regional group will be Forth Valley College as the facility has a campus in each Forth Valley council area.
Fiona Brown, FVC’s Associate Principal and Executive Director - Learning and Teaching with responsibility for the Stirling Campus, said:
“We were delighted to welcome Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham to our Stirling Campus today and even more delighted to hear the announcement on the launch of the Forth Valley Developing Young Workforce regional group. Along with our partners, we are very committed to creating opportunities for young people across the Forth Valley area.
“The Cabinet Secretary was also very interested to speak with senior pupils from Lornshill Academy, Larbert High School and Bannockburn High School and find out how they think we can improve work experience and contact with employers in the local area.”
However members of the group also include Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Falkirk Councils, Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce, Ace Recycling Group, NTCadcam, Step Up, WebHelp, Prudential, COS (Scotland) Ltd, Waverley Training Ltd, Rooftec (Scotland) Ltd, Malcolm Allan, SP Energy Networks, Tryst Dental Practice, Ceteris (Scotland) Ltd, YouTrain and Calachem Ltd.
Kevin Kelman, Senior Manager for School Improvement and Member of the DYW Forth Valley Board on behalf of Stirling Council said:
“Stirling Council has been a key contributor to the development of the successful Forth Valley regional bid. The work of the regional group will support schools to enhance business engagement within education. We see this as a key development to increase the number of young people in work.”
Jillian Nelson, Chair of the DYW Forth Valley Regional Group, said:
“Young people are extremely important to all businesses as they are the next generation of leaders and innovators. No matter how big or small a company is, there’s always a place for a young person. As the first employer-led group of its kind, we are extremely enthusiastic to be working with and supporting our local companies to increase youth employment.”