Scottish Government
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More support for careers

£1.5 million for careers advice for younger pupils.

Pupils in all local authorities will benefit from a new offer of earlier career advice in this school year.

Supported by £1.5 million from the Scottish Government, the move is aimed at better preparing young women and men for the world of work and extends the current offer of group activities in careers information and advice to S1.

In addition to this extended offer, there will be face to face support for pupils and parents prior to choosing senior phase subjects.

The new face to face offer will initially be developed in collaboration with a sample of schools across Scotland, with Shetland, Dundee, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire already confirming their intention to work in partnership with Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

More local authorities are expected to confirm their intention to be involved by the end of August.

The announcement was made by Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham as part of a visit to Brae High School in Shetland.

Ms Cunningham said:

“Earlier careers advice was one of the key actions outlined in the Scottish Government’s Youth Employment Strategy and I am very pleased be able to fund SDS to give younger people access to advice and guidance to explore what their options are when they leave school.

“The world of work probably feels like a lifetime away for most of Scotland’s 12 year olds and the aspirations of many are likely to change as they move towards adulthood. But in order to ensure our young people are more work-ready, with the skills that employers have told us they need, we need to begin talking to them at an earlier age than we do now about careers that interest them, the subjects they need to study to pursue those careers and what work means more generally.

“We want all aspects of education – school, college, university and training – to be geared towards sustainable employment. Engaging with our young people at a younger age will help them understand what lies ahead and what they need to do to fulfil their potential and succeed in their career of choice.”

Damien Yeates, Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland, added: “Through the delivery of careers advice at an earlier stage we are making sure Scotland’s young people develop knowledge of the world of work.

“This support will equip them with the information they need to prepare for moving into further learning, training or employment beyond school.

“We also recognise the important role parents, carers and teachers have in a young person’s life. That is why we want to proactively involve them in the process and we look forward to including them in our meetings with pupils as we look to prepare them for life after school.”

Notes To Editors

The funding is part of £16.6 million allocated to taking forward the Government’s Youth Employment Strategy, ‘Developing Young Workforce’: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/12/7750.

 

Channel website: http://www.gov.scot/

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