Giving every young person the chance to succeed.

The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fiona Hyslop MSP, has announced further details on how the Youth Guarantee will give young people the chance to succeed despite the economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19).  Today’s announcement has confirmed additional investment for Developing the Young Workforce Regional Groups to support the delivery of the Youth Guarantee including strengthening our offer in the senior phase and ensuring those furthest from the labour market can access the appropriate support.

The Scottish Government’s £60 million support for the guarantee, will ensure every young person has the opportunity of work, education or training, with £10 million additional funding for DYW.

An implementation plan written by Sandy Begbie has been published today. The report’s recommendations include:

• a simplification of the employability landscape so that greater impact can be achieved. This work to be co-designed with young people
• a better alignment of education provision with the needs of employers
• work to introduce an incentive model where government pays 50% of wages for young people who need the most help
• early work to identify opportunities with employers in some least-impacted sectors, including financial services, utilities and life sciences
• a call for the public sector to create more opportunities for young people
• businesses who would not normally have taken an apprentice full-time come to consider sharing an apprentice with other employers.

Rob Woodward, Chair of the Employers’ Forum said: “Today’s announcement gives strong endorsement for the future of DYW and highlights that Scottish Ministers are listening to employers and recognise the valuable insights from across the DYW network. As a network, we will respond to this challenge to ensure that young people have the best possible support and preparation for entering the labour market”.

“We will work closely with our partners including local authorities, employers and SDS to ensure that this additional investment has the maximum impact. I encourage all employers to support our young people at this difficult time by supporting their local DYW Regional Group”

The report can be found here - https://www.gov.scot/isbn/978180004037

The annual #NoWrongPath campaign grows from strength to strength every year. We were delighted to collaborate with big names such as NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Doosan Babcock, NMIS and more! We're determined to bring inspiring stories from industry professionals every year on the week of exam results. These individuals are a testament to the fact that your exam results aren't the defining factor in your future career. While it would be preferable to get the results you're looking for, you can still achieve your career goals no matter the circumstance. Visit https://www.nowrongpath.scot/ for more information.

Don't just take our word for it, hear from them yourselves:

Andrew Bowman | DYW West Chair

Andrew Bowman took an unconventional path to success. Listen to him talk about his experiences running his own business, dipping in and out of university and more!

Andrew Colquhoun | Doosan Babcock CEO

Andrew Colquhoun worked his way up from apprentice to CEO of a global company and won the ROCCO's Business Leader of the Year Award in 2019. Listen to the story of how he rose to the top at Doosan Babcock.

Mandy Holley | NHS Health Visitor

Mandy is a Health Visitor with the NHS and her story is of a path less travelled, but she managed to find success and was able to use her life experiences to get to where she is today.

Philip Briscoe | European Circuits Ltd Sales Manager

Philip's sales journey started 25 years ago, but it wasn't what he expected to be doing in his career. Find out how he arrived at his current role at European Circuits.

Stewart McKinlay | NMIS Associate Director

Stewart's dreams of becoming a pilot were dashed when he found out he was short-sighted. Find out how he faired at university and his journey towards becoming the Associate Director at NMIS (National Manufacturing Institution Scotland).

We'd like to extend our thanks to everyone who contributed this year, DYW as a whole are extremely grateful for the number of people who got involved. Until next year!

Scotland's Biggest Parents' EVENTS is back!

Given the current circumstances, SBPE has been modified to be more applicable and accessible. This year it's comprised of 4 events: Pathways to Industry, Vocational Pathways, #NoWrongPath to Industry & Pathways to Priority Industries with event 1 taking place on Tuesday, 7th July @ 7pm! 

These events will provide parents and carers with information about options and pathways for young people, including where they can go to make informed judgements to support their young person's next steps.

Registration for Event 1: Pathways to Industry is open, visit https://www.dyw.scot/sbpe for more details!

Developing the Young Workforce have made a commitment to young people by delivering the DYW Skills Academy: a 5-week programme providing a series of virtual activities and employability experiences for 2020 Summer Leavers.

Week 1 begins W/C 13th July and each week is centred around a different aspect of employability like Industry Insights, e-Learning, Applying for Jobs and more!

The ‘Get Industry Ready’ sessions give you the insight, skills and knowledge you need to build your industry readiness. You will learn at your own pace with weekly video content delivered by industry experts alongside bite-sized e-learning and to top off the experience, if you are actively applying for jobs or apprenticeships there are additional experiences just for you.

So if you're a school leaver and looking for a job or apprenticeship, learn more and register by visiting https://www.dyw.scot/skills-academy.

On the week of the 1st of June, Developing the Young Workforce launched the #DYWKeyWorkers campaign. This gave DYW West the opportunity to collaborate with local employers and highlight the essential roles that are keeping Scotland's economy going and those on the frontline, combatting the Coronavirus.

We reached out to employers in a variety of industries and received some excellent submissions from the individuals in key roles.

Monday, June 1st:

We kicked the week off with Philip Briscoe, the Sales Manager at European Circuits. Philip highlighted how their products are being supplied directly to NHS frontline staff and how they're being used in the fight against the Coronavirus.

Tuesday, June 2nd:

We then spoke to Erin, a Specialist Biomedical Scientist with NHS GGC. She told us about the recent media attention her field has attracted, and what it's like to live and work in the West region.

Wednesday, June 3rd:

As this was also #VolunteersWeekScot, we were delighted to be able to showcase the volunteer work that's being done in Scotland. Alice McBride is the Volunteer Development Officer for Engage Renfrewshire, here she talks about the role volunteering plays in these times.

We also spoke to Fiona, a Primary School Teacher at St. Anne's Primary in Erskine, who told us about the passion she has for her pupils, their families and the local community.

Thursday, June 4th:

Jim is the Commercial Director at Binn Group, Scotland’s leading recycling and resource management company. They provide a vital service keeping bins empty and waste processed.

On Thursday we also spoke to Adam, a Care Worker with Kerr Home Care Ltd in Johnstone. He told us about how proud he is to be caring for other people during this time and more!

Friday, June 5th:

We started off the final day of the campaign with Margaret, a Practice Nurse of over 20 years with the NHS, who talked us through the skills needed for her field and much more.

To round off the week, we spoke to Natalie. Natalie is the daughter of Margaret and a Call Handler with NHS24, showing that the NHS is a calling for different generations of the family.

We'd like to extend our thanks to the organisations who were keen to work with us and everyone who contributed videos and case studies for the #DYWKeyWorkers campaign, keep up the good work!

Enginuity believes that one engineer can change their world … and ours, given the chance. However, the next generation doesn’t seem to be giving engineering the chance, that’s why Enginuity is looking somewhere new for budding engineers.

Introducing Skills Miner, a set of 5 custom levels created by Enginuity in Minecraft designed to unlock players' engineering potential. Play Skills Miner today and see where your skills could take your career!

Go to www.skills-miner.com for more information and watch the launch video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpe_19jWuIc&feature=youtu.be!

Once again, DYW West celebrated the 8^th of March the way we always do… By making a week out of it!

We took groups of young women on tours of some of Scotland’s most high profile STEM employers so they could see the inner workings of huge organisations like NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (Inverclyde Royal, NHS Golden Jubilee & Royal Alexandria Hospital), British Airways, Rolls-Royce and Keir Construction!

We’re all about encouraging young women to pursue careers in STEM-related industries and areas that are seen as “male-dominated”, hopefully inspiring them to pick the relevant subjects at school to start them off in a STEM career.

Unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19 meant that the tour with DXC in Erskine had to be postponed to a later date which will be confirmed when we return to some normality.

Thank you to the Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Royal Alexandria Hospital, British Airways, Rolls-Royce, DXC, Keir Construction and NHS Golden Jubilee for agreeing to offer the tours as well as the pupils from Castlehead HS, Gleniffer HS, Johnstone HS, Trinity HS, Linwood HS, Mary Russell, Paisley Grammar, Clydeview Academy, Inverclyde Academy, St. Columba’s HS, Clydebank HS, St. Peter The Apostle HS, St. Luke’s HS, Woodfarm HS and Eastwood HS!

Hear from Robyn about the tour at the Royal Alexandria Hospital:

Robyn Allan, 14, Gleniffer HS

“Today we visited a number of areas from labs to engineers and it was a great opportunity to see all the areas that the NHS offer. It was great to hear about the MA opportunities on offer in these areas and beyond within the NHS and meet new people”

Scottish Apprenticeship Week returned this year with a bang!

As always, the week of the 2^nd March 2020 was packed with great events, like the Inverclyde Apprenticeship Careers Fair, to celebrate Scotland’s apprenticeships and the work our young apprentices do on a daily basis. For us, we strive to promote the companies who support apprenticeships and the individuals themselves and how an apprenticeship has allowed them to flourish in their careers! This is why we started the We Support Apprenticeships campaign.

We wanted to highlight the companies operating in our four local authorities (West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire & East Renfrewshire) that put their faith in young individuals looking to make a start in their careers by combining practical experience with learning, with the outcome being a well-rounded platform for apprentices to push on with a long and successful career.

Businesses of all sizes took part in the campaign such as Rolls-Royce, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and Media Monty! We want to extend a big thank you to everyone who took part, you can see the companies and their apprentices in this video!

Here at DYW West, we fully appreciate the issues, concerns and confusion that young people are currently experiencing due to the current situation we are all facing. Whilst this is a very challenging time for the Education sector and all employers, this won’t last forever. 

That’s why we are asking employers to make a pledge to help to support our future #youngworkforce when things return to some normality. We are looking for employers to pledge their support to young people across our region when schools and colleges reopen. We want young people to have the reassurance that they won’t miss out on opportunities due to this unprecedented situation we are all experiencing.

We want them to know that things WILL get back to normal and WHEN they do, there will be opportunities for them across all sectors. We would like you to let us get the message to young people that you will be ready for them when they return! 

Make your #DYWPledge today. 

How to get involved:

Option1: Record and post a video on social media with hashtag #DYWPledge and tag DYW West, briefly talking about your pledge to young people – e.g. apprenticeships still open or been extended / expect to open later in the year / expect work placements to continue later in the year / access and use our online resources etc…

Option2: Or take a photo of you holding the attached template listing high-level details of your pledge(s).

We hope as many employers as possible can support this campaign. Please see below examples of social media copy and a template!

Thank you and we wish all our contacts all the best during this challenging time.

As a result of our host, West College Scotland's’ buildings closing due to the coronavirus on Friday 20th March, the DYW West team will be working from home from the 23rd March for the foreseeable future. We will continue to have access to files, email and be able to use Skype / MS Teams. Our contact details are below. We are also able to receive emails that end @wcs.ac.uk – Please continue to contact us in the normal way (except the office landline), thank you.

We are all able to assist employers, educators and most importantly young people looking to apply for jobs e.g. do online interview prep sessions / sector chats / share our knowledge & experience in a virtual way (as opposed to at careers events / school talks etc.) and are very keen to continue to assist in any way we can. We encourage educators, employers, influencers (parents & families) and young people themselves to follow our social media channels. Thank you – DYW West team

Bob Davidson, Director

bob.davidson@dywwest.co.uk / 07393 826121

Jan McMahon, Programme Exec, West Dun & East Ren

jan.mcmahon@dywwest.co.uk / 07710 715536

Clarke Speirs, Programme Exec, Renfrewshire & Inverclyde

clarke.speirs@dywwest.co.uk / 07710 715535

Dennie Gillespie, Events Exec

dennie.gillespie@dywwest.co.uk / 07568 352502

Fraser Woods, Digital Marketing Exec

fraser.woods@dywwest.co.uk / 07767 676200

General email:   info@dywwest.co.uk

Website:            www.dywwest.co.uk

Facebook:         /DYWWestRegion

Twitter:              @DYWWEST

Instagram:         @DYW_WEST

LinkedIn:            linkedin.com/company/dywwest