17 February 2016
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was in Glasgow on Wednesday where she opened The Gathering, a national conference bringing together charities from across Scotland to celebrate the huge impact the voluntary sector has on communities.
First Minister @NicolaSturgeon opens @gatherscotland at SECC in Glasgow #HeartNews pic.twitter.com/4ydMta8qtl
— Heart Scotland News (@HeartScotNews) February 17, 2016
During her speech, the First Minister announced an additional £6.1 million to help get young people into work. The money will boost the job prospects of those aged between 16 – 29 years old who face the biggest barriers to employment, including people with disabilities and those who have left the military early.
FM announces £6.1m for Community Jobs Scotland to provide more than 700 training opportunities. #G2016 I pic.twitter.com/uoB7o1efC5
— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) February 17, 2016
This most recent funding brings the total Scottish Government investment into Community Jobs Scotland to more than £45 million since it launched in 2011. To date, more than 6,500 job training opportunities have been created for young people across all 32 local authorities.
The First Minister said:
Our voluntary workers play a crucial role in making Scotland a prosperous and equal society. They are essential to our efforts to build a fairer and wealthier country and are vital in encouraging participation – ensuring people have a real say in the issues which directly affect them.
“Today’s funding of £6.1 million will provide 700 training opportunities for young people. It is so important that most of the places will be filled by people who currently find it harder to get jobs – carers, people leaving care, people with disabilities, and people leaving military service – and is a further example of the role the third sector can play in promoting opportunities and tackling inequality.
“Community Jobs Scotland has been an overwhelming success, with almost 70% of young people involved in the programme going onto a job or further education. That is especially impressive when you consider that many of the places are reserved for groups who sometimes face particular difficulty in entering the workplace.
“We want to respect people’s dignity, value their potential and encourage their ambitions because doing that, and providing the practical support which helps people to fulfil their potential, is the best way of achieving a fairer and more prosperous Scotland.”
Martin Sime, Chief Executive, SCVO said:
This is fantastic news for the young unemployed people who’ll get the chance of a job with a voluntary organisation making a difference in their community.
“Community Jobs Scotland really has the edge on other employment programmes because it’s giving a leg up to young unemployed people who are furthest from the labour market to grow their confidence and skills in a real workplace. That is why most graduates from the programme get a permanent job.”
During her time at The Gathering, the First Minister also signed up to the SCVO’s #ilovecharity campaign to promote the good work Scotland’s charities do every day.
You can watch the First Minister’s full speech here:
Here’s a selection of tweets from The Gathering #G2016