Caledonia Youth to close in Spring

Charity to close after 46 years – eleven staff face redundancy

Castle Terrace based charity Caledonia Youth Services is to close in the New Year due to ongoing funding difficulties.

Speaking on behalf of the Board of Trustees, a spokesperson said:

“It is with great regret that we must announce the forthcoming closure of Caledonia Youth. Our Edinburgh-based charity provides a variety of specialist preventative interventions to support young people under 25 in Scotland through challenges associated with their transition to adulthood, helping them develop their social and emotional capabilities and reduce negative risk taking behaviour.

“Now, after 46 years, we find ourselves unable to sustain our charity following an erosion of funding in recent years. While the team have worked hard to secure new sources of income and been successful in doing so for many years, like other colleagues in the third sector we have faced a constant reduction in statutory funding. For us, this culminated in the termination of our contract with NHS Lothian earlier this year to deliver a specialist clinic in Edinburgh, which had served young people in the region since 1968, along with our school-based programme to help increase knowledge.

“Having exhausted alternative funding avenues vital to the sustainability of our charity, the Board of Trustees have made the difficult decision to wind up Caledonia Youth. We are in the process of applying to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) to formally do so and the last day of operation will be 31 March 2015. Obviously we are hugely disappointed to be faced with what is the only option left open to us, which will bring redundancy for 11 highly skilled people.

“We would like to take this opportunity to say how very proud we are of our extremely dedicated team here at Caledonia Youth who have developed and delivered many ground breaking programmes. They have proved great advocates for tens of thousands of young people, particularly the more vulnerable, disadvantaged and disengaged in our society today.

“Caledonia Youth’s enterprising and adaptable approach has impacted upon our young clients by helping to change long term behaviour, giving rise to both direct and indirect positive outcomes including their enhanced employability and opportunities to enjoy full and rewarding lives.

“While we wish we could do more, the focus now is on ensuring our young clients are supported through the closure, as there is a dearth of service provision. We too experience waiting lists for our services. We will do our utmost to ensure they are connected with an appropriate organisation, although that will possibly mean a different level of assistance.

“On top of this, we will be doing everything in our power to help our team secure alternative employment as quickly as possible.

“Our thanks go to those who have helped us sustain Caledonia Youth – funders, partner organisations and those who make referrals to us – and to all the young people we have connected with and supported over the years.”

Caledonia Youth corporate_brochure

Getting ready for work

‘We will not settle for a return to pre-recession levels of joblessness in young people’ – Roseanna Cunningham

Additional funding to help develop a world class vocational education system that supports joint working between employers, schools, and colleges is to be made available, the Scottish Government has announced. Local authorities will receive £6.5 million to help ensure young people are ready for work.

The announcement was made by Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham ahead of the publication of the Scottish Government’s new youth employment strategy, which will set out plans for implementing the recommendations of the report by the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce.

Local authorities will share £6.5 million in 2014/15 to develop vocational and employment pathways open to all young people, strengthen links between schools and employers, and help vulnerable groups towards the labour market.

Ms Cunningham said: “Since the publication of the Commission’s report earlier this year, working closely with our partners, we have made significant progress in planning for a system of vocational education that is better equipped to help more young women and men into work.

“From a total £12 million made available this year, we have already invested £5.5 million in taking forward elements of the report. Pilots for foundation and advanced apprenticeships are already underway, and interest among employers in the new Investors in Young People accolade is steadily building. I will shortly outline in full how the Scottish Government will work with its partners to implement the report’s recommendations.

“Scotland’s local authorities are a central part of this process and I am delighted to be able to provide £6.5 million to maintain momentum at a local level, enabling schools to work more closely with colleges and employers. This approach will build on Curriculum for Excellence, benefiting children from early years onwards, developing their understanding of and skills for work and opening up high quality vocational pathways in their senior phase. That way, they will be better prepared to progress into sustained high quality employment.

“With this investment, pupils, parents and teachers will be supported to better understand the careers and routes open to young people and see opportunities in areas like science and engineering enhanced. Local authorities will also have a responsibility to ensure different routes are open to everyone, including those from vulnerable groups.

“We will not settle for a return to pre-recession levels of joblessness in young people, and the full extent of our ambition will become clear in the coming days with the publication of our new youth employment strategy.”

Edinburgh has already enjoyed some success in getting our young people into training or employment. At a ‘Celebrating Success’ reception held at the Scottish Parliament last week it was announced that 1252 young people have successfully progressed their careers though the Edinburgh Guarantee, a partnership between the city council, local employers and the voluntary sector.

Launched three years ago, The Edinburgh Guarantee is a vision that all sectors in the city will work together to ensure that every young person in Edinburgh will leave school with the choice of a job, training or further education opportunity available to them.

It seeks to increase the number of jobs, education, and training opportunities being made available to young people. Over 300 organisations have offered support so far, over 1600 opportunities have been identified including jobs, apprenticeships and placements and over 1,252 of those opportunities have been matched to young people.

The Edinburgh Guarantee has contributed £29m to Scotland’s economy since it ‘s launch, according to a report published by the city council last week. More than £17m of this has added value to Edinburgh’s economy.

This has been achieved by supporting businesses to match 1,252 young people into jobs, apprenticeships, internships or training. A further saving of £3.9m to the Department of Work and Pensions has been made from not having to pay Job Seekers allowance to 18-20 year olds.

A total of 757 jobs have been directly created for young people and as a knock on effect of this a further 575 other jobs have been created.

The findings were announced at a ‘Celebrating Success’ event, held at the Scottish Parliament, which brought together employers, potential employers and young people to celebrate and hear the news.

In addition to this, since 2009/10 the percentage of school leavers going into positive destinations has increased from 82.5 per cent to 91per cent in 2012/13. The most recent figures are due to be published at the end of this month.

Councillor Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and the figures announced today surpass all of our expectations. We must keep up this excellent work, however, as ensuring that Edinburgh’s young people have opportunities is vital for the economic success of our city.

“The year on year improvements that have been achieved since the inception of the Edinburgh Guarantee show that focused collaboration can make a real difference to many young lives. I am confident that with sustained investment and the support of our public, private and third sector partners these improvements will continue in future.”

Sandy Begbie, Chief Operations Officer, Standard Life: “We passionately believe in giving young people a chance to demonstrate their capabilities and helping them to achieve their potential. Since we agreed to take part in the Edinburgh Guarantee initiative we have welcomed over 90 interns into our business, all of whom have performed valuable roles within the organisation, while receiving The Living Wage.

“Over two-thirds have been successful in securing full-time employment with us, while the other third have moved on to further education or roles with other employers.

“The young people bring so much enthusiasm, energy and a refreshing new perspective to our business. We are delighted with the outcome, so much so we are now starting to roll out similar programmes to some of our other offices in the UK.”

One success story is seventeen year old Emily Lynch from South Queensferry, who completed a Modern Apprenticeship in Business Administration two weeks ago.

She wasn’t keen to stay on at school but wanted to continue in some form of training, so after hearing about Modern Apprenticeships Emily looked up MyJobScotland on the advice of her parents.

Emily said: “When I went on to the site, there were Modern Apprenticeships on offer for Business Administration in the City of Edinburgh Council.

“I looked up MyJobScotland because my mum knew about it and I remembered my guidance teacher talking about it when we had covered introduction to the workplace in school.

“Although I had been for interviews for Saturday jobs in the past, this was my first experience of a proper formal interview but we had done mock interviews in school so I tried to remember everything we had gone through then.

“Bits of the interview were good, I talked about myself, my interests, my hobbies, what I could bring to this job, so that was all fine. But to be quite honest, some of the questions they asked me about the department went right over my head!

“Let’s just say the phone call I made to my mum right after the interview finished wasn’t an optimistic one!

“The last week before the end of summer term, I get a phone call on the Tuesday offering me the Modern Apprentice Post! Suddenly everything changed, I wasn’t going to be at school anymore!

“The school were absolutely over the moon for me, and my guidance teacher sorted everything out and submitted my leavers form for me right away, so on Friday 28 June, I walked out of the school building, ready to start my professional career.

“Contracts had to be negotiated with the City of Edinburgh Council along with all the usual background checks and I started the post on 5 August last year as a Business Administration Modern Apprentice.

“Over the course of the year, I have learned and developed, been challenged, been frightened and been supported.

“Modern Apprenticeships are not just about the learning and curriculum, they are about every aspect of workplace skills. I had come from a school environment completely surrounded by people my own age, and suddenly, here I am in a team adapting to people of all different ages!

“Over the last year I have had fantastic opportunities to work in different areas of the Council.

“ I have been part of a number of different finance teams and gained a real insight into important functions including working with housing teams, putting through the charges for the repairs and maintenance bills on Council Houses, Assisting the Housing Finance Manager with work on the city wide 21st Century Homes project, which itself supports a number of Modern Apprentices. I have also worked on the Finance Administration of the City Car Club learned about the grant support of charitable organisations.

“I have also been asked on a number of project working groups, bringing a pair of fresh eyes to the table, someone who is fairly new to the Council and has a different outlook on things.

“One working group was BOLD, which is a team looking at creative ways to manage the Council budget. Another, looking at bringing more Modern Apprentices into the workplace.

“I can still hear my mum’s voice now saying “as long as there’s learning, as long as there’s training”. The saying ‘earn as you learn’ also comes to mind when I think about my experiences from the past year.

“I hope I will have the opportunity to apply for a permanent post within the City of Edinburgh Council. It is the organisation that gave me my opportunity, trained and supported me and somewhere I would like to stay. No one knows what the future holds; if that doesn’t happen, I am ready for the workplace. “

'Smith Commission believes in young people'

The politicians have had their say on the Smith Commission recommendations – the unionists say it’s a vow delivered while the nationalists argue it doesn’t go nearly far enough.

But what do young people think?

Terri Smith MSYP, Vice Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, welcomes the Smith Commission’s recommendation to devolve the voting franchise:

Waking up this morning to the news that the Smith Commission has recommended that the voting franchise should be devolved to Holyrood is particularly pleasing, and it is some of the best political news I’ve heard since the franchise was originally lowered for the referendum.

There is a real commitment in Scotland from politicians and others alike to have 16 and 17-year-olds voting in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections, and for me, that’s the least our young people deserve. The referendum saw unprecedented levels of political participation from the young people of Scotland.

During the referendum campaign, the Scottish Youth Parliament engaged with over 18,000 young people and registered thousands of first time voters. As a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYP), the opportunity to be at the forefront of one the most historic moments in Scottish history was astounding. The process gave me the opportunity to engage with young people right in the heart of their communities.

I’ve spoken with young people from all walks of life. Throughout the referendum process, each and every one of the young people I met with were informed, engaged, and full of passion. Young people have truly been at the heart of shaping history throughout the last year, and the entire world has been watching and waiting to see if the decision to lower the franchise would be a success, and indeed it has been.

I think we can all agree that the referendum provided a platform for mass engagement for everyone in Scotland, but particularly young people. We now need to maintain these levels of engagement, otherwise we are at risk of disenfranchising an entire generation, when in fact, we are aiming to be doing the opposite.

As the democratically elected voice of Scotland’s young people, the Scottish Youth Parliament has always known that 16 and 17-year-olds are capable of making informed decisions when it comes to voting, and now the rest of the country can see that too.

I am incredibly happy to see that the Smith Commission believes in young people, and is now urging the UK Government to ensure these recommendations are implemented so that Scotland can continue to lead the way in involving young people in political decision making. After all, the young people of Scotland deserve it.

Terri Smith MSYP

Vice-Chair, Scottish Youth Parliament

PYCP Christmas Fair

We are having a fundraising Christmas fair at PY on Saturday 6 December from 2 – 4 pm.

Come along on the day to enjoy the atmosphere – we have a special VIP guest who will be floating around for the event and have lots of fantastic prizes on the tombola and raffle.

We are also being donated a cake to do a guess the weight on – the twist is that the cake is going to be a replica of PY Greenhouse building. Hopefully he will touch up the roof and make it more green than it actually is … !

I hope you can come along,

Debbie McMillan
Senior Administrator, Pilton Youth & Children’s Project

Honest TOiL proves worthwhile for city youngsters

Young people graduate from PoLHA training programme

Thirty five young people from across Edinburgh have completed an 18 week training programme, with 23 going straight into employment following their training. The young people join almost 500 who have graduated from Port of Leith Housing Association’s (PoLHA) training programme Training Opportunities in Lothian (TOiL).

Among those to graduate at an event at the City Chambers last night (25 Nov) was Magdalena Susfal who said: “I gained a lot of admin skills and got a feel for how it is to work in an office environment. The training was very useful and I enjoyed it. The Excel training was very good and the interview preparation before my Modern Apprenticeship interview helped me get the job.”

The young people were presented with their certificates by co-founder of Social Bite, Alice Thompson, at the ceremony attended by employers, stakeholders of the programme, young people and proud friends and family members.

Alice Thompson said: “The jobs market can be difficult for young people to get in to, but given they are the lifeblood of the economy it’s imperative they are given opportunities. I want to congratulate them on their achievements as they are now on the path to bigger and better things.”

Another trainee graduating was Reece Hunt, 17, who has gone on to work as an electrician with Bemco.

Reece said: “I most enjoyed getting to know new people. It was hands on work which is what I like. I found the training informative and it was very relevant to our age group. The delivery made it interesting.”

Other trainees graduating on November 25 were Matthew Mackie, Chris Singh, Jake Summers, David Reilly, Alex Pennykid, Nathan Moyes, Alex Main, Garry Mitchell, Jordan Bald and Lewis Ewen.

PoLHA’s TOiL programme has been running for eight years and 68 per cent of participants move into sustainable employment, apprenticeships or further education after the six-month placement.

PoLHA Chair Margaret O’Connor, who presided over the graduation’s proceedings said: “TOiL provides valuable work opportunities to young people in Edinburgh with a variety of valued partner organisations. Our trainees have access to support and a holistic approach is used supporting those that need it most.”

Love's in the air at The Greenhouse!

There was a great turn out when Pilton Youth & Children’s Project (PYCP) held their annual general meeting at The Greenhouse on Friday 24 October – it shows young folk just love PY!

PYCP’s Debbie McMillan said: “We had over fifty visitors on the day and handed out award certificates to some well-deserving children, young people and volunteers. They all received an “I Love PY” teeshirt too which are being modelled in some of the photos.

“We also launched our new Annual Report which is available to anyone who would like a copy. A new member joined our board at the AGM but we could do with more board members – if you know anyone who might be interested please get in touch.”

Interested? Contact call Debbie on 332 9815 or email Debbie@pycp.co.uk

Website: www.pycp.co.uk
Facebook: Pilton Youth & Children’s Project (PYCP)

Meet beats tweet when looking for work

‘Getting out there and speaking with people is just as important as being online’ – Grahame Smith, Scottish STUC

Technology may have invaded every aspect of our lives, but new research shows a personal touch is still the best when it comes to getting a job.

The 2014 Employer Perspectives Survey, released today by government skills experts the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), shows that despite the meteoric rise of social media, just 7% of employers say they’ve used it to recruit new staff.

Based on interviews with more than 18,000 employers across the UK, the study reveals that recruitment methods involving the human touch, such as filling vacancies through word of mouth and personal recommendation are still widely used by employers.

Just over one in ten (11%) of employers said they used work experience as a recruitment tool, whilst the number offering a job as a result of a speculative enquiry has more than doubled.

Although the findings may be welcomed by parents who are unconvinced that their offspring’s broadband consumption actually equates to job hunting, the researchers say the findings point to a greater need to hone jobseekers’ social skills.

Grahame Smith, a Commissioner at UKCES and General Secretary of the Scottish TUC said:

Digital skills are crucial in the modern workplace, and while many young people excel in this area, these findings show how important it is for jobseekers to also develop their personal presence. Getting out there and speaking with people is just as important as being online, but it’s more difficult for the digital generation.

That’s why it’s important to break down the barriers between education and employers. By offering simple things like business mentoring, careers talks, work experience and mock interviews, businesses can make a huge difference to the future of young people. Our research shows that whilst only a minority of employers currently work with schools and colleges in this way, the good news is that those that do say it’s easy and rewarding.

Michael Davis, chief executive of UKCES, said:

For those looking for work, making use of social media when job hunting can bring a world of information at the click of a mouse, but when it comes to making that all important first impression it seems there’s no substitute for legwork.

This research shows that what really matters to employers is an opportunity to get face to face with candidates, and get a real understanding of how they tick and what they can offer.

For employers it’s important to not become over-dependent on one form of recruitment. Our research shows that word of mouth is still commonly used to hire staff – but this risks missing out on a huge talent pool just because people don’t happen to be plugged into the right professional networks.

By striking a balance, both sides can benefit. Creating strong links with local education providers is just one way of achieving this, allowing employers to see first-hand what young people can offer, while simultaneously giving young people opportunity to build crucial contacts.

Other findings from the report include:

businesses in London and the south-east are most likely to recruit a young person – 32% of employers have recruited a young person in the past 12 months.
businesses in the East Midlands, the south-east and the south-west are most likely to have recruited an older person (aged over 50) with 33% of employers reporting they’ve taken on an older member of staff in the past 12 months.
nearly half (49%) of hotels and restaurants have recruited young people in the past year, compared with just 13% of employers in the utilities sector.

Search is on for top youth worker

Scotland’s National Agency for Youth Work is looking for the very best work being done with young people in and around Edinburgh. Youth workers and volunteers in the local area are being encouraged to nominate entries for the National Youth Worker of the Year Awards 2015 organised by YouthLink Scotland.

The 8th National Youth Worker of the Year Awards will be an outstanding showcase of the remarkable work that is being done right across the nation. We are searching for a wide range of entries and it’s not just traditional youth workers we want to hear from.

In every local area of the country there are countless examples of people paid and unpaid who do great work with young people. The parent who runs a youth work project on a Friday night, the local Girlguide leader, the student who helps younger pupils who are struggling with bullying or a respected youth work manager at a local council or voluntary organisations.

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Children and Young People, said: “Every year the National Youth Worker of the Year Awards rightly celebrate the often-unseen heroes who do valuable work in our communities.

“In the past, these awards have recognised a very broad range of individuals who have shown a true commitment to youth work. I encourage everyone in the Edinburgh area to consider people in their community who could be nominated and I look forward to hearing more about the nominees and winners.”

Jim Sweeney, Chief Executive of YouthLink Scotland, said: “These awards are a true celebration of our unstinting belief in our young people. I would love to see each category packed with nominations as there is so much life changing work going on.

“Right across the country in clubs and organisations, on the streets and in the great outdoors, youth workers give of their time to help young people achieve their potential and be all they can be. Youth work is a wholly positive experience that changes lives and adds to the commonwealth of Scottish society.”

Each of the 10 categories for the 2015 Awards will see three finalists chosen with the winners being presented with their award on the night of the Awards Dinner in March, and the overall Youth Worker of the Year will be chosen from across the individual category winners.

The deadline for nominations for each of the 10 award categories is Thursday 18 December 2014. An Awards Dinner to announce and celebrate the achievements of the finalists will be held on Thursday 12 March 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow.

The 10 categories for the National Youth Worker of the Year Awards 2015 are:

• Youth Worker of the Year (Full-time or Full-time equivalent)
• Youth Worker of the Year (Sessional paid/part time)
• Volunteer of the Year
• Innovative Practice ¬– Team of the Year
• Youth Worker of the Year (Uniformed Organisations)
• Youth Worker of the Year (Intergenerational)
• Role Model/Mentor of the Year
• Youth Work Manager of the Year
• Agencies and Partner Organisations (Worker of the Year)
• Lifetime Achievement Award (Fellowship of YouthLink Scotland)
• Overall Winner (selected from winners of other categories)

To find out more information about the National Youth Worker of the Year Awards 2015 and to download a nomination form, visit the YouthLink Scotland website at www.youthlinkscotland.org

Broughton’s Good Samaritans!

You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald.

Helen, who is 76, was clearing up following a family birthday party at LifeCare House. Whilst leaning over to dump bags of rubbish in a big bin in Comely Bank Street she took a dizzy turn and fell. Disorientated, Helen was confused and unable to get back to her feet.

“To be honest I wasn’t sure what I was going to do”, she said. “It all happened very quickly and it was a bit of a blur. One second I was putting bags of rubbish in a bin and the next I was on the ground. I felt a bit daft!”

Help was at hand, however. Three S2 Broughton High School pupils were on lunch break when they witnessed the accident, and in the finest tradition of the Three Musketeers Justin Youngs, Mason Harrison and Reece Head leapt to the aid of a damsel in distress.

The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.

That may have been the end of the story, but for Helen’s daughter – another Helen. When she heard her mum’s story she felt that the schoolboys deserved some recognition for their prompt actions so she embarked on some detective work. Young Helen – it had been her birthday party, incidentally – contacted the Head Teacher at Broughton and the three students were soon traced.

Last week Helen – who has made a full recovery – was reunited with Justin, Mason and Reece at the Inverleith Community Conference at Broughton High School. The boys remained modest about their actions, but Helen gave the lads small gifts to show her appreciation and said: “I am really happy to have the chance to say a proper ‘thank you’ to the boys. I really don’t know how long I would have been there if they hadn’t come to help me. You do hear lots of awful things about young people but these boys are a real credit to their families and their school.”

Broughton's Good Samaritans!

You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald.

The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.