Number of Scots young people in education, training or work rises

The proportion of young people in education, training or employment has risen slightly in a year, new figures show.

An annual review of what those aged 16-19 are doing recorded a participation rate of 91.1 per cent, an increase of 0.7 per cent when compared to the 90.4 per cent recorded in 2016.

Thefiguresfromskillsdevelopment Scotland (SDS) look at the education or training preferences for the 217,490 youngsters within the age bracket.

They reveal the highest participation rate is among 16-year-olds (98.8 per cent), 0 Jamie Hepburn has welcomed the latest figures with the vast majority at school (91.5 per cent).

Those aged 19 continue to have the lowest participation rate at 83.4 per cent, but this is higher than in 2016 (81.7 per cent). Almost 40 per cent of 19-year-olds are in higher education.

Youngsters not in education, training or a job account for 3.7 per cent of the overall 16-19 year old group, a figure that has decreased by 0.3 per cent on the previous year.

Employability and training minister Jamie Hepburn welcomed the figures.

He said: “Going forward, we want to ensure that all of Scotland’s young people have access to the best possible opportunities and we are committed to continuing to work with local authorities to minimise the number of young people not participating in education, training or work.”