Young people out of work is a major global problem

Government target to reduce youth unemployment achieved four years ahead of schedule

The World Economic Forum says youth unemployment is set to remain an important global challenge.

Joblessness among the young has been described as a “corrosive legacy” of the last decade’s international financial crisis, with the capacity to hinder young people’s integration into traditional patterns of economic life – such as earning, saving and building careers.

So it was heartening last autumn when the Scottish Government announced it had fulfilled its commitment to reduce youth unemployment by 40% – four years ahead of schedule.

The headline target in the Scottish Government’s Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) strategy was to cut youth unemployment, excluding those in full-time education, by 40% between 2014 and 2021.

The Scottish figure for youth joblessness was down to 27,000 last year from 52,000 in 2014 – a drop of 48.3%.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: “Our Developing the Young Workforce programme has proven hugely successful, strengthening and diversifying our offer for young people as they progress through their education, alongside improving careers advice, work experience and modern apprenticeship opportunities.”

DYW Dundee and Angus is one of 21 regional DYW groups across Scotland.

Its manager Angela Vettraino said: “Our group is hitting the twoyear mark this summer and it’s been a whirlwind two years for the team whose focus is on developing links between education and industry.

“Over 120 local employers are currently involved with DYW across the region. Employers are involved for a variety of reasons – including raising the profile of their organisation and industry, and developing a pipeline of talent into their organisations.

“The benefits are clear – DYW helps prepare students for life after education and provides knowledge and experience of the local labour market.

“Research proves that pupils with four or more encounters with employers are 86% less likely to end up not in employment, education or training, and will earn 18% more.”

Angela said her team acts as a facilitator between employers and education, making engagement easier and ensuring everyone benefits from collaborating.

She added: “The team work with employers from diverse sectors and sizes.

“Projects are varied and fall into three main categories –engagements, partnerships and events.

“Partnerships are where an employer and a school agree to work together over at least one academic year, on multiple or repeated activities.

“Engagements are shorter-term inputs from employers and can take many forms including a career talk, mentoring, mock interviews or curriculum input.

“DYW Dundee and Angus also supports events that offer young people hands-on tasters of the world of work.

“An example was a conference for travel and tourism pupils across Angus, where they did speed networking with a range of employers and learnt about the various careers the industry offers.”

Angela said another successful project is apprentice ambassadors.

This supports apprentices to go into schools to speak to pupils about their experiences.

“Pupils hear directly from other young people about the options open to them.

“The apprentices develop their communication skills, and employers can promote their apprenticeships.

“Three local schools have takenpart in the project so far and feedback has been very positive,” she added.

Angela Vettraino.