Search is on for capital’s top youth workers
Scotland’s National Agency for Youth Work is looking for the very best youth work being done with young people across Edinburgh. Youth workers and volunteers in Scotland are being encouraged to nominate entries for the National Youth Worker of the Year Awards 2016 organised by YouthLink Scotland. Continue reading Who are Edinburgh’s youth champions?
Edinburgh will be well represented at the annual National Youth Worker of the Year awards dinner in Glasgow next week. Five city-based nominees are among the finalists.
Citadel Youth Centre’s Karen Anderson has been nominated in the Youth Worker of the Year category and Kerry Reilly of YMCA Edinburgh is on the shortlist for Youth Work Manager of the Year. Leith-based Sikh Sanjog is in the running for Team of the Year for their Heritage Inclusion project and both Kerry Smith (Prince’s Trust)and Graeme Stewart (Police Scotland) have received nominations for their collaborative work on a programme based in Edinburgh College .
Preparations are in the final stages for this year’s event on Thursday (12 March) at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow. Winners will be chosen in nine different categories from twenty-seven nominees and there is also a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Minister for Children and Young People Fiona McLeod MSP will present the winners with their awards. She said: “The National Youth Worker of the Year Awards are a great platform for celebrating the fantastic and often unseen work done by young people in our communities. I congratulate all twenty-seven of the selected finalists and wish all of them well ahead of the big night.”
These are the eighth annual awards and this years event will be hosted by broadcaster and DJ Arlene Stuart.
The event is sponsored by Scottish Fire and Rescue Services, One Awards, Young Scot, CLD Standards Council for Scotland, Generations Working Together, The Scottish Community Safety Network, The D of E, SQA, Youth Scotland and Education Scotland – quite a list!
YouthLink Scotland Chief Executive Jim Sweeney said: “The awards are a true celebration of our unstinting belief in our young people”.
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
Edinburgh’s young people to have their say
Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy is to be updated to reflect the strengthening economic conditions and the Government’s ambition to radically improve how young people move from education to employment .
Employers, public bodies and the third sector all now have the chance to contribute to a ‘refreshed’ strategy which is expected to be published later this year.
Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment Angela Constance will meet around 60 young people in Edinburgh later today to gauge their views on the best ways to help 16 to 24 year olds into work. She said: “The Scottish Government’s Youth Employment Strategy was published in late 2012 as a cross government drive to ensure the right links were being made by government, local authorities and other key partners.
“Much has changed since then, with the latest figures showing that youth unemployment has fallen from 91,000 to 65,000 in the last two years. The number out of work is still unacceptable but Scotland’s economy has returned to pre-recession levels and employment in the general population is higher than ever.
“I am determined to maintain a strong focus on youth unemployment so that young people will continue to benefit from the economic growth that we are delivering. There has also been considerable activity at government level, not least our response to the work by the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce.
“History tells us that following a period of economic difficulty, it takes longer for the jobs market for younger age groups to recover, but I am determined to push beyond even the pre-recession levels of youth unemployment of around 13 per cent.
“We share the Commission’s vision of a world class system of vocational education and of a 40 per cent cut in youth unemployment by 2020. But to ensure we are doing everything in our power to help our young women and men to succeed and to take advantage of the strengthening economy, our approach must continue to evolve and our central strategy must reflect the current economic conditions.
“With the full range of economic levers that an independent country would have including taxation and welfare, we would be able to better align our service so that we make an even greater difference in the lives of our young women and men.”
In a joint statement YouthLink Scotland, Scottish Youth Parliament, and Young Scot, said: “As organisations who work with young people we welcome the government’s continued focus on youth employment. It is important that an updated youth employment strategy listens to the views of young people so we can develop the right employment programmes, training and opportunities that reflect their needs. A well supported, vibrant and dynamic youth work and young people’s sector will play a key role alongside the strategy in bringing skills and positive opportunities to young people.”
25,000 young people set to benefit from seized proceeds of crime this year
The Scottish Government has announced that more than £2 million is to be invested to create life-changing opportunities for vulnerable young people.
The CashBack for Communities funding will be invested by national youth work agency, YouthLink Scotland, over the next three years in projects that will empower and guide Scotland’s young people towards a more positive future.
It’s estimated that around 25,000 young people will be able to access new opportunities in each of the three years as a result of the new funding. This will continue the support of the youth work that has already provided 330,000 opportunities for young people and created a 73,000-strong army of volunteers and workers.
Minister for Children & Young People Aileen Campbell welcomed the news yesterday when she visited the Green Shoots project – on the same day the recently-published National Youth Work Strategy Scotland was debated in the Scottish Parliament.
Green Shoots – a 12-week programme that gives young people at risk of becoming involved in antisocial behaviour or alcohol and drug dependency the opportunity to take part in community-based environmental volunteering – is a great example of criminals’ ill-gotten gains being used for the benefit of communities.
Ms Campbell said: “Youth work is a hugely effective force for good for hundreds of thousands of people and the perfect way to reinvest the CashBack for Communities funding. This money will help offer activities, skills and training opportunities and, most importantly, a place to turn for many young people facing difficulties or at a crossroads in their lives.
“Investment in youth work is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. I am lucky to have seen first-hand the difference youth projects make in giving young people confidence to make their voice heard, seize the opportunities in front of them and make the right decisions for themselves and their families.”
Jim Sweeney, CEO, YouthLink Scotland, said: “Over the last five years, CashBack for Communities has created a generation of local superheroes, giving power back to young people and their communities by using the cash seized from criminals as a force for positive change.
“This money has helped young people access life-changing youth work opportunities which has given them more optimism for the future and has proved to many young people that they can achieve their ambitions despite difficult life circumstances.”
Since 2007, over £74 million of money seized through the Proceeds of Crime Act has been put to excellent use through CashBack for Communities, funding around 1.2 million activities and opportunities for young people.
