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Record positive destinations

92.3 per cent of school leavers head towards work, training or education.

More school leavers are moving to positive destinations such as employment, training or education than ever before.

Figures released yesterday show that 92.3 per cent of leavers entered an initial positive destination in 2013/14, a rise of 0.9 percentage points on the previous year.

The report by Skills Development Scotland also shows that the percentage of leavers reported as unemployed and seeking employment or training has fallen again to 6.3 per cent, down from 7.1 per cent in 2012/13, the lowest it has been in the last 10 years.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Angela Constance said yesterday:

“The Scottish Government is committed to creating more and better jobs and today’s figures demonstrate improving prospects for young people with more school leavers heading into employment, training or Further and Higher Education.

“In just a few weeks I have seen a number of good examples of the work being done in our schools. The task is now to redouble our efforts to accelerate improvements in attainment and ensure that all young people have the opportunity to fulfill their potential, regardless of their background.

“We are undertaking a range of actions to raise attainment across the board, including investing an additional £1.5 million to help reduce barriers to learning experienced by pupils from disadvantaged areas. We must do all we can within the powers and resources we have to narrow the gap and drive up standards at all levels.”

Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham added:

“This is indeed welcome news for Scotland’s young women and men. However, while there are still young people not in training, education or employment, we must continue to do everything we can support those who need help to take their first steps towards the jobs market.

“This week we published a new youth employment strategy for Scotland which builds on the new blueprint for vocational education outlined by the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce. Alongside our partners we will take forward a range of measures to bring schools, college and employers much closer together and give our young people the best possible change of finding high quality sustainable employment.”

Damien Yeates, Chief Executive of SDS, said:

“Together with partners, schools, colleges and local authorities, SDS provides a range of services that aim to help young people make a successful transition from school to the workplace.

“We also recognise that pupils need to hear directly from employers and that industry must play a part in shaping its future workforce. To support that, we worked with local authorities to organise a week of activity with over 300 employers visiting schools across Scotland to tell pupils about work-based learning.

“This activity is bolstered by the development of a new programme that will allow school pupils to complete ‘core’ elements of apprenticeships while still in school to help prepare them for the world of work.”

 

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

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