Inspiring Young Women: be all you can be

Major event at Holyrood this month

Inspiring young women to be the best that they can be is the key focus of a major event being held at Holyrood on Monday 23 March, hosted by the Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP.

Announced as part of the Presiding Officer’s Time for Reflection address to the Scottish Parliament on 23 September 2014, the event will bring together 128 young women from across Scotland. It has been designed to encourage young women to develop the confidence and leadership skills needed to help them to achieve.

The Presiding Officer said: “The referendum demonstrated to the world that young people can and should play a full role in determining the future of their countries. This is right and proper. As the Scottish Parliament is led by its first female Presiding Officer with women in key political positions, we have a golden moment now to encourage this generation of young women.

“On 23 March, I have invited young women from schools across Scotland to come to Holyrood. We will explore what it means to be a young woman in Scotland today, what inspires them, what holds them back and what their hopes are for the future.”

Exploring themes of confidence, leadership and barriers that hold young women back from being the best they can be, the young women will meet with and have the opportunity to question female MSPs who are playing leading roles in their parties.

MSPs joining the Presiding Officer on the day are: Leader of Scottish Labour in the Scottish Parliament Kezia Dugdale MSP, Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson MSP, Business Manager and Spokesperson for Justice for the Scottish Liberal Democrats Alison McInnes MSP and Scottish Greens’ spokesperson on sport, rural affairs, environment, culture and education Alison Johnstone MSP. Also participating in the day will be key figures in the fields of arts, industry, sport and public life.

Speaking of her own personal commitment, Mrs Marwick MSP said: “All young women should have the confidence to achieve whatever it is they want to achieve. I am determined to play my role in making sure the Scottish Parliament is a place that encourages them and positively impacts on how they see themselves.”

Thirty-two schools across Scotland (one in each local authority area) will each send four young women to attend the Inspiring Young Women event at Holyrood Scottish Parliament staff are working closely with the S4 and S5 year group pupils ahead of the event to ensure they get the best from their time on the day.

Schools taking part are:

Aberdeen City – Torry Academy
Aberdeenshire – Peterhead Academy
Angus – Arbroath Academy
Argyll & Bute – Dunoon Grammar School
Clackmannanshire – Alloa Academy
Dumfries & Galloway – Maxwelltown High School
Dundee City – Off-site Education Service
East Ayrshire – Doon Academy
East Dunbartonshire – Boclair Academy
East Lothian – Preston Lodge High School
East Renfrewshire – Barrhead High School
Edinburgh City – Castlebrae Community High School
Eilean Siar – Sgoil Lionacleit
Falkirk – Falkirk High School
Fife – Auchmuty High School
Glasgow City – Springburn Academy
Highland – Inverness High School
Inverclyde – St Stephen’s High School
Midlothian – Newbattle High School
Moray – Forres Academy
North Ayrshire – Irvine Royal Academy
North Lanarkshire – Braidhurst High School
Orkney Islands – Stromness Academy
Perth & Kinross – Perth Academy School
Renfrewshire – Castlehead High School
Scottish Borders – Hawick High School
Shetland Islands – Anderson High School
South Ayrshire – Ayr Academy
South Lanarkshire – John Ogilvie High School
Stirling – Wallace High School
West Dunbartonshire – St Peter the Apostle High School
West Lothian – St Kentigern’s Academy

Funding for trainees in creative industries

£100,000 funding has been awarded through Creative Scotland to support ten full time, year-long traineeships across the arts, screen and creative industries, it was announced today.

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop in Hawthornvale will be one of the five capital-based organisations to offer traineeships.

The Traineeships Programme aims to support the employment prospects for people aged 20-30yrs interested in developing a career in arts and culture, by creating valuable work experience opportunities.

Traineeships will take place at Africa In Motion (AiM) Film Festival, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Media Education, Starcatchers and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS) in Edinburgh; GMAC Film and Barrowland Ballet in Glasgow; Ayr Gaiety Theatre in Ayrshire; The Pier Arts Centre in Orkney, and with Jewellery designer Eileen Gatt in the Highlands.

Leonie Bell, Director of Arts & Engagement, Creative Scotland said: “Creative Scotland is committed to supporting the creation of opportunities for young people to gain employment, work experience and vocational qualifications in the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland.

“These traineeships will offer young people the opportunity to develop the skills and professional experience needed to progress in their chosen profession by removing barriers to paid work experience.

“At the same time, organisations will benefit from fresh, innovative ideas and enthusiasm of the trainees.”

Traineeships will be offered across the following areas:

Visual Arts
Assistant Curator (Programme Team) – Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop
Gallery Programmes Trainee: Exhibitions, Learning & Digital (Curatorial and Education) – The Pier Arts Centre

Film
Shadow Curator – Africa In Motion (AiM) Film Festival
Online Film Content Developer – GMAC Film
Trainee Project Assistant / Member of Production Team – Media Education

Theatre and Dance
Starcatchers Trainee Associate Artist – Starcatchers Productions
Programme Officer (Programming Department) – Ayr Gaiety
Dance Participation Artist, Participation and Outreach Department – Barrowland Ballet

Craft
Eileen Gatt: Jewellery designer/maker

Literature
Digital and Language Resources Trainee – TRACS based at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

All Traineeships will be advertised on Creative Scotland’s Opportunities site.

Welcoming the announcement Irene Kernan, Director at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, said: “The Creative Scotland Traineeship will support Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop’s aims of developing talent and supporting young artists in their careers. Being able to employ a trainee for a full year provides a valuable opportunity for us to bring new approaches and skills to the staff team and further develop our public programme to connect with local audiences.”

£6.5 million to support youth employment

‘additional resource to tailor to activity to local need as we progress work to ensure all of Scotland’s young people have the best possible chance of success.’ – Roseanna Cunningham

Scotland’s 32 local authorities will split £6.5 million from the Scottish Government to take forward a variety of programmes to support young people to find work. Edinburgh’s share of the fund is £463,000.

The funding has been put in place to support the implementation of the recommendations from the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce which outlined a new blueprint for work-based training last year.

The funding will go towards initiatives to develop vocational and employment pathways for young people, strengthen links between schools and employers and help vulnerable groups become work ready.

Local authorities have now been informed of how much they will receive for 2014/15. Edinburgh’s share of the fund is topped only by Glasgow City, which will receive £692,850.

Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham said: “The latest trends on youth employment have been hugely encouraging but there is no room for complacency. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting more young women and men into jobs and published a new youth employment strategy in December.

“At the heart of our strategy is the report by the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce. We will continue to work closely with our partners in local government and Scotland’s business community on its implementation as part of a seven year plan to create a new world-class system of work-based training that will work for both the economy and the job prospects of our young people.

“I am very pleased to be able to confirm funding for all of our local authorities that will give them additional resource to tailor activity to local need as we progress work to ensure all of Scotland’s young people have the best possible chance of success.”

Childcare Academy: two places left

We have 2 places left for 16 & 17 year olds for our Childcare Academy. If you or anyone you know is in this age group and interested, could you get in touch ASAP.

February 2015 CA Publicity Poster 16

Childcare Academy Standard Information

Audrey O’Neill
Training Administrator, North Edinburgh Childcare

0131 311 6931
www.northedinburghchildcare.co.uk

Childcare Academy: recruiting now

We are now recruiting for the new Childcare Academy, which starts on Monday (23 February).

I have attached a poster and standard information for display and distribution.

Childcare Academy Standard Information

February 2015 CA Publicity Poster 16

Audrey O’Neill,

Training Administrator, North Edinburgh Childcare

Telephone: 0131 311 6931

www.northedinburghchildcare.co.uk

Weather’s no match for local Army Cadets!

Nearly one hundred Army Cadets aged 12-18 years shrugged off freezing temperatures during a recent training weekend in the Pentland Hills, their first camp of 2015.

The weekend saw cadets based at Granton Square overcome snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures to put into practice the skills taught at their local Detachment.

Cadets took part in navigation training, first aid and fieldcraft. During the fieldcraft phase, cadets learned how to build improvised shelters and secure a ‘temporary home’ known as a Harbour Area.

Senior Cadets under the supervision of the Adult Volunteers grasped the opportunity to demonstrate to the younger Cadets how preparedness, teamwork and self-discipline can determine your success and survival, whatever the weather.

Major John Tonner, Officer Commanding of the weekend said: “I am extremely impressed with the abilities demonstrated by the Cadets and their maturity in applying themselves in the adverse conditions brought by the cold weather.

“It is a very unique opportunity for individuals to witness how valuable skills provided within our Youth Organisation can steer young people to go further in their chosen path in life”.

The ability to adapt quickly was demonstrated by all of the Cadets resulting in many new qualifications gained and successful testing to allow Cadets to progress onto the next stage of their Cadet careers with 17 Cadets gaining new First Aid qualifications and five Adult Volunteers receiving their First Aid at Work qualification.

17 Platoon is part of Lothian & Borders Army Cadet Force and have training nights every Monday and Wednesday evenings between 7 – 9pm. They welcome cadets between 12 and 18 years of age and encourage parents to get involved too.

You can find out more about the Cadet’s sporting and adventure training activities by visiting their Detachment at the Army Reserve Centre at Granton Square, online at www.lbcadets.co.uk or by calling 01506 856 698.

Safer Internet seminar

Last chance to book – you do not have to be working online to make use of this session, or be an ‘expert’ in social media!

As in previous years, as part of Safer Internet Day 2015 we will be hosting a seminar especially for youth workers on Tuesday 10 February at Gilmerton Community Centre from 6– 8pm.

Booking is essential for this event as there are only limited spaces at the centre. The seminar is open to all youth workers across the City, Council or voluntary sector, paid staff or volunteers.

For the seminar, Liz Ely from Zero Tolerance will present their research on young people’s attitudes and then take us through some of the useful approaches that they have developed for youth workers in their ‘Under Pressure’ resource.

http://zerotolerance.org.uk/sites/all/files/Peer%20Research_1.pdf
http://zerotolerance.org.uk/UnderPressure

This promises to be an engaging seminar in an area of concern for many young people, parents and workers. To book your place, please email:

gavin.crosby@edinburgh.gov.uk

with your name, email address and organisation.

Places will be limited to one per centre in the first instance, any spare places will be offered up to others nearer the event.

Places may be available to non-youth work agencies (e.g. housing, social workers or teachers) but priority will be given to youth work staff.

Give it a try? Game On with Edinburgh Rugby

Edinburgh Rugby’s Game On project has now been running for two years and the project is now beginning to expand and seeks new partners to work alongside.

Game On aims to help young people aged 16 to 19 who are not currently in employment, education or training to find their way in life, to get into a training programme, find a job or apprenticeship or return to education.

The participants will learn new skills both on and off the field; on the field participants will take part in introductory rugby sessions at BT Murrayfield Stadium, the home of Edinburgh Rugby and the Scotland team. Throughout the rugby sessions the core values of Scottish Rugby will form the backbone of the content, aiming to instil the values of Respect, Leadership, Achievement, Engagement & Enjoyment.

Our expertise are the values of the sport, both on and off the field. Encouraging teamwork, confidence, increased activity and the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle (both physically and mentally).

Some of the topics cover throughout our sessions are:

Goal Setting
Drugs and Alcohol awareness,
Nutrition and Hydration,
Interview Practise(s)
Rugby’s core values
Learning to coach and the different principles of fitness along with the basics of how to train them.

Meeting the professional players who play for the team is also a very inspiring experience for the young people.

If you feel that working with Edinburgh Rugby would benefit your programme, in any way from one off sessions to weekly sessions please get in touch, we can come to you or use our magnificent home at BT Murrayfield stadium.

Mark Coull (Edinburgh Rugby – Game On Project Development Officer)

Telephone 0131 346 5076 | Mob: 079 682 505 30 | Mark.Coull@edinburghrugby.org |

www.edinburghrugby.org

Signup for NEC’s Childcare Academy

We are now recruiting for the new Childcare Academy, which starts on Monday 23 February.

Please see the attached poster and standard information.

February 2015 CA Publicity Poster 18

Childcare Academy Standard Information

Audrey O’Neill, Training Administrator

North Edinburgh Childcare

18b Ferry Road Avenue, Edinburgh EH4 4BL

Tel: 0131 311 6931 Fax: 0131 315 4420

www.northedinburghchildcare.co.uk

College Information Days next week

Edinburgh College is holding course information days this month for potential students to find out more about courses starting in August and get on track for successful futures.

Anyone interested in finding out more about studying at the college to get on the career ladder, continue with studies or learn new skills is invited to come and talk to staff from across the curriculum.

The information days are on Tuesday 27 January from 2pm -6.30pm at Sighthill Campus and on Wednesday 29 January from 2 – 6.30pm at Milton Road Campus.

Each event will have information about all curriculum areas.