Scotland's Economy
Scotland leads the way for youth employment
June 13, 2013 by John Swinney MSP 1 Comment | Category Uncategorized
Yesterday’s job figures have again highlighted a very Scottish success story.
For the seventh month in a row we have seen a year on year drop in youth unemployment in Scotland, with the rate now down to 15.2 per cent. That’s over six percentage points lower than a year ago – and down from almost 25 per cent 18 months ago.
Of course, this figure is still far too high and we are working hard to ensure every young person is given the best possible chance of finding work. But the success we have had in slashing joblessness among young people means Scotland now has one of the lowest rates of youth unemployment anywhere in Europe.
Only five of the EU’s 27 member states have a lower youth unemployment rate. We want to go further. But we should reflect on how we got to this point, and why the rest of the UK still lags behind Scotland on youth jobs.
Since my appointment as the only dedicated youth employment minister in the EU in December 2011, we have implemented a Team Scotland approach. The public, private and third sector as well as social partners have pulled together to harness all available resources to support young people.
Modern Apprenticeships continue to play a key role, with a guaranteed 25,000 places every year. And the most recent school leaver figures showed that a record 87 per cent went on to get a job or secure a university, training, or college course place.
For those aged 16 to 19 who haven’t already had found their niche, we have guaranteed offer of a place in education or training through our Opportunities for All scheme.
A total of £30 million has gone towards funding Opportunities for All, in addition to £130 million already committed through key programmes such as Community Jobs Scotland and Educational Maintenance Allowances. And just yesterday the First Minister outlined how £88 million to support small businesses create youth jobs will be spent.
Much has been done to address youth employment in Scotland and more work will follow. There will be no let-up until the outlook for young people in this country has been vastly improved and everyone has the best possible chance of finding work and fulfilling their potential.
RSS
Email
I think with the economy slowly progressing back to where it once was, this is a great move. Even the forex trading is recuperating. We just have to hope for the best.