Sandy Begbie developed his initial report - 'Young Person Guarantee No One Left Behind' - in 2020, with aspirations to ensure that "within 2 years every 16-24 year old will either be in paid employment for a period of between 12 and 24 months, enrolled in education, actively involved in an apprenticeship or training programme, or engaged on a formal volunteering or supported activity programme." Such ambitions were fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic and its perceived likelihood to adversely impact opportunities available to young people. Sandy Begbie highlights that "it was a call for Government at all levels, public sector, private sector including employer groups, employment agencies and 3rd sector organisations to step up and do what they could for the young people of Scotland." Fortunately the labour market recovered more rapidly than predicted, and rates of unemployment amongst young people did not reach the heights which had been feared. This did not render the Guarantee insignificant as it also spans broader issues relating to diversity and inclusivity, as Sandy Begbie states "...this is about giving everyone a chance in life, an opportunity to fulfil their potential as an individual, regardless of their background." Sandy Begbie reiterates that "the Young Person's Guarantee was never intended to be solely a short-term response to the pandemic. Our ambition was to drive real sustainable change, something which has undoubtedly been achieved over the last 2 years." Read about some of the key successes below: - Generation of 22,000 jobs and opportunities have been made available by over 800 employers who are signed up to the Guarantee. - Collaboration between partners to meet goals outlined in the Equality Action Plan. - Deployment of 300 DYW school coordinators has further enhanced relations between employers and schools. - Introduction of the School Leaver's Toolkit (May 2022) supports young people in sourcing relevant information to aid the transition from school to work. - Careers Advice Review and Recommendations (Feb 2022) outlines methods of improvement in how young people receive information and guidance. - Young people have the opportunity to influence and shape the Guarantee via the Youth Leadership Panel, which is comprised of 30 volunteers. - £4 million dispersed amongst third sector organisations who can better support young people who are more difficult to target. You can read the full report here. Comments are closed.
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