Developing the Young Workforce are looking to shape up our 2021 employer led ‘Scotland’s Biggest Parents Events’ and would really appreciate the views of parents, carers and guardians to ensure we deliver information and insight that is helpful and hits the key topics you would like to hear about.  We are asking for 2 minutes of your time through a short survey to help us get this right for you.  The deadline for survey completion is Friday 4^th June.  You can check out last year’s focus HERE and keep an eye on the website for updates for this year’s event. Thank you for your support,  Team DYW.

Survey link >> here

As part of Scotland’s response to COVID-19 economic recovery, Young Person’s Guarantee was launched in November 2020. It aims to give all young people, aged 16-24 in Scotland, the chance to succeed through the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, education, training or volunteering.

And for employers, it offers help to develop a future pipeline of skills and experience, with young people at the heart of the workforce. Young people bring organisations a wealth of talent, creativity, and enthusiasm, critical now and for future success.

DYW regional groups have been tasked the Scottish Government to get employers of all sizes and across all sectors involved with Young Person’s Guarantee in up to 5 ways: 

• Prepare young people for the world of work
• Create opportunities for young people who face the greatest barriers to work
• Invest in a skilled workforce through apprenticeships, training and upskilling opportunities
• Create jobs and opportunities suitable for 16-24 year olds
• Ensure a work environment which supports all young people and provides fair work

View the guide to the YPG -here

View the YPG proforma, where employers can sign up to the asks -here

To discuss how your organisation can support the YPG please contact us atinfo@dywwest.co.uk

DYW West appoints new Chair

DYW West (Developing the Young Workforce West Region), the Scottish Government funded regional group (covering Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire) hosted by West College Scotland, has recently appointed Jim Hannigan, Head of Skills Capability at NMIS (the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland) as its new Chair. The Board comprises of organisations of all sizes and sectors from across the region representing the private, public and third sectors.

Commenting on his appointment, Jim said “I’m delighted to support DYW West; I know from current and previous roles how important industry engagement with education is. I am joining at a key time as the regional group has been awarded additional funding for DYW Schools Coordinators and plays an integral role in the Young Person’s Guarantee. If not already, I call on all organisations in the region to connect with DYW West and discuss how they can support each other by emailing info@dywwest.co.uk

Lead Official and DYW West Programme Director Bob Davidson said “...it is great to have Jim on board given his current senior role at NMIS, previous SDS experience and progressing from an apprentice to a Director in a well known firm such as Doosan Babcock, it’s a great fit. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing Chair, Andrew Bowman who served as Chair for 2 years and stepped down to focus on his new business ventures”.

ENDS

About DYW West: DYW West is the Scottish Government funded regional group for the area hosted by West College Scotland. Regional groups across Scotland are tasked with connecting industry with education in order to help develop Scotland’s future workforce www.dyw.scot

About Jim Hannigan: Jim Hannigan - Head of Skills Capability – NMIS (University of Strathclyde) Jim is currently Head of Skills Capability at the Manufacturing Skills Academy within the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS). Before this, he was NMIS Skills Programme Manager with Skills Development Scotland (SDS), where he was responsible for leading the development of the initial business proposition for the NMIS Manufacturing Skills Academy. However, the bulk of his career was in heavy engineering, where, joining the company as an apprentice Jim spent over 35 years with Doosan Babcock, where he served as Director of Asset Management, leading the Manufacturing and Engineering consultancy division. He is a professional member of IOM3, as well as serving on the IOM3 Commercial Board and has been a Chartered Engineer since 1994. Jim is also a member of the Board of Management at West College Scotland, where he chairs both the Corporate and Remuneration committees.

Emily our Modern Apprentice has written a blog post: "10 Things I didn't expect (or know) before becoming a Modern Apprentice!"

Check it out here: https://madiaries143672851.wordpress.com

Does your organisation employ apprentices? (Foundation, Modern and/or Graduate). Then why not consider entering the Scottish Apprenticeship Challenge!

The company/apprentice(s) identify a project which benefits the local community and the individual apprentices or teams of apprentices (up to 8 apprentices in a team) can participate, depending upon the project being undertaken. A maximum of 40 hours should be spent on this project over a three month period.

Organisations need to register with us by 31^st May and have completed the project by the end of September (with a report). We will have a regional event in October to choose our regional winner who will go forward to the national competition. For more info read here / registration document link is here

As 2018 is the Year of Young People the younger team members of DYW West and DYW Glasgow have teamed up to tackle the objective of the Year of Young People 2018 - to provide a platform for young people to have their views about education heard and acted upon. To achieve this, we have developed a Web App that allows young people to share their thoughts on education in Scotland.

If you are 26 or under, through this platform you are invited to contribute to a bank of thoughts around education in Scotland - by completing the sentence ‘Education should be…’ by visiting www.educationshouldbe.scot

We’d like to encourage everyone to spread the word and get behind #educationshouldbe. Join the conversation on social media and find out more at @DYWWEST and @DYWGlasgow.