Paisley team makes the cut for awards
YMCA shortlisted for digital charity accolade
Paisley YMCA is up for a top award – and the team running the organisation wants your votes.
The Christian group is in the final of the Digital Leaders competition, the global initiative for promoting effective, long- term digital transformation across government and industries.
The independent list recognises 100 people and organisations across the UK who are leading the way in digital transformation.
Darran Gillan, 41, youth development and programme manager at the YMCA in Paisley, said: “We are under the category of Digital Charity of the Year.
“We are one of 10 organisations or charities across the UK in the running for the award.
“We’ve come to be in the running for this because of the digital-based youth work programmes that we deliver across Renfrewshire.
“One example of that is what is called ‘iEnterprise’.
“It’s a digital- based youth enterprise incubator for young people aged 11 to 15 .”
It came about through the research carried out by Paisley YMCA.
“A lot of young people don’t have part-time jobs any more,” Mr Gillan said.
“Saturday morning jobs and all of those traditional routes into your first job are all pretty much gone now.
“For young people leaving school at 16 or 17 and going into their first job, it is very difficult because they haven’t transitioned from the world of school into the world of work, and how different an environment that is.”
For young people, having their own job teaches them about responsibility, Mr Gillan added.
“It teaches them about being on time, about dealing with customers, money handling and all of these basic things.
“So what we’ve done with the iEnterprise programme is to tap into the inherent interests of young people themselves, as they’re not going to be given that at the moment due to their age, or lack of resources, or lack of opportunity.
“The iEnterprise incubator is all about giving them that opportunity – exposing them to high-end digital facilities and technology they can use to then take the idea from out of their heads and implement that in the real world. “It’s very popular. “We also help out with seed funding for young people.”
He added: “What we are trying to do is to get young people to think about how they would monetise their idea into a product or service.”
The YMCA in Paisley runs four ‘coding clubs’ a week that introduce young people to the basics of computer programming.
“Every time we set one of these up, it always sells out.
“We support about 60 young people per week,” Mr Gillan said.
“One of our young people was commissioned to build the Barnardos Threads financial website for Renfrewshire’syouth.
“It’s called Renfrewshire Young Money and he was paid around £ 500.
“What we are about is making young people employable through the programmes, as well as teaching them skills.”
Mr Gillan urged people to vote for the YMCA in the Digital Leaders competition.
He added: “People should vote for us because it highlights and it brings attention to the work we’re doing.
“And the more attention that the public bring to the work that we are doing highlights the digital literacy skills gap across Renfrewshire.
“It shows the types of programmes that need to be provided through schools, through the council and through third-sector organisations such as ourselves to support young people in the future to be more employable, and also to make them more upskilled for future jobs that are yet to even be developed.”
Vote for the YMCA at http:// www.digileaders100.com