Partnership Delivers Summer Programme

A partnership initiative to support young people gain confidence, skills and knowledge was held in The Hub for Skills, Work and Employability over the summer.

Delivered by Orkney Island’s Council’s Community Learning, Development and Employability team (CLDE); Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Orkney, the programme was developed to help young people develop the skills they would need as they move on from mainstream education onto further education, training or work.

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The programme started in May during exam leave and ran throughout the summer holidays.  It was targeted at young people who may need support to move on from school.  Ten young people joined the group, with six attending regularly throughout the summer.

The weekly sessions were jointly delivered by CLDE, SDS and DYW Orkney.  CLDE’s activities focused on the development of life skills and the young people were supported to gain accredited qualifications through Dynamic Youth Awards and the Digital College, with online courses on Food Hygiene and Customer Service available to them.

Sessions also focused on online safety, with an input from Police Scotland; inputs on drinking responsibly where they learnt about the impact of alcohol and made mocktails; personal finance and money management education through the I-Lead Money Programme and an opportunity to try out VR headsets at Orkney Library and Archive.

Lindsey Johnson, CLD Employability Team Manager, said:  “The Hub group was a great example of collaborative working from members of Orkney’s Local Employability Partnership.  Youth Workers from the CLDE team worked with Kirkwall Grammar School to identify young people who would benefit from this summer programme, and developed activities to help them gain soft skills such as teamwork, timekeeping and communication skills.

“Eight of the young people gained qualifications through Digital College, totalling 13 accredited qualifications, and six worked towards and completed a Dynamic Youth Award.”

SDS and DYW Orkney’s sessions focused on employability skills.  Kerri Liddle, Team Manager, SDS, said:  “SDS and DYW Orkney worked in partnership with the CLDE team to develop a programme that would support the young people to develop the vital employability skills that employers are looking for.  Activities helped them to identify their skills, and equip them to write a CV and prepare for a college or job interview.”

The young people were also given the opportunity to explore their options with visits to UHI Orkney’s Hospitality Department and the Balfour Hospital.  At UHI Orkney they learnt more about careers in Hospitality, the transferrable skills needed in the sector and pathways into those careers.  While the visit to the Balfour helped them to learn more about the variety of non-clinical careers available and the work-based learning opportunities offered by NHS Orkney.

The programme concluded with a mock interview session where local employers came along to ask young people some of the questions they could expect to be asked at an interview.  Young people were supported to develop answers based on their own skills and experiences.

Rachel Scarth, Project Manager, DYW Orkney, said:  “It was fantastic to work with CLDE and SDS to deliver this programme, and we definitely saw the young people gaining confidence as the programme progressed.  The workplace visit and mock interview session were great opportunities for them to meet employers in a more relaxed setting and we hope it will make the prospect of a real interview much less daunting for them in the future.”

Following the conclusion of the programme, the young people returned to school, started a college course or secured employment.