The first organisations to back the £60 million Young Person’s Guarantee have been announced by Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop. 

In a collective effort to help young people, the Scottish Government has been joined by SSE, Capgemini, NHS Lothian, Scottish Water and Standard Life Aberdeen in the commitment to ensure everyone aged between 16 and 24 has the opportunity of work, education or training.

The Guarantee aims to give all young people in Scotland the chance to succeed despite the economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19)

Organisations backing the Guarantee make five pledges to help young people at this critical time:

• prepare young people for the world of work through work experience, volunteering and work-based learning opportunities
• engage with and provide opportunities to young people who face barriers to work
• create work-based learning, training and upskilling opportunities for young people
• create jobs and opportunities for young people through apprenticeships, paid internships and work experience
• create an inclusive workplace to support learning and enable young people to meet their potential

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:

“The pandemic is having a disproportionate economic effect on our young people, reducing job opportunities just as they are starting out on their careers. I am delighted to be launching the Young Person’s Guarantee today to help ensure their prospects are not permanently damaged

“I want to thank the early trailblazers who have backed our ambitious initiative and recognise the importance of supporting our young people.

“The leadership of employers from across Scotland and from all sectors will be key in providing the opportunities that will make this Guarantee a success.  This employer leadership will build on our strong track record of tackling youth unemployment through our industry led Youth Employment Strategy – Developing the Young Workforce.   

“We are encouraging employers to come forward and join what is a crucial intervention to ensure that we capture the potential of our young people and prevent coronavirus (COVID-19) leaving a lasting impact on the employment opportunities of our future workforce.

“I want Scotland’s young people to know we are right behind you, we want you to be successful and we will do everything we can to give you the opportunities you need.”

Sandy Begbie, who led the Edinburgh Guarantee said:  “In the spring, I was delighted to be asked to develop a strategy to establish a Young Person Guarantee for all 16 to 24-year-olds in Scotland.  The ambition is clear, I want every one person who is unemployed to be given an opportunity for a job, apprenticeship, education, training or volunteering.  I strongly believe we must act now and decisively, our young people are an asset and a credit to Scotland.”

WCS have echoed their support, Stephanie Graham, Vice Principal Educational Leadership said, "West College Scotland is fully committed to the Young Person Guarantee and working collaboratively with others to support young people to be successful.  As a College we have significant experience in helping young people to develop their skills and confidence, raise their aspirations and follow career pathways in order to progress on in life. Almost 9,000 young people aged 16-24 study in West College Scotland each year and in this current challenging time we recognise the importance of the Young Person Guarantee and our role in supporting this." 

With the academic year in full swing at WCS and the Winter start courses now open for application, we are committed to supporting Scotland's Young Person Guarantee to build a better future for our young people. 

Further information on the Young Person’s Guarantee is available on the www.youngpersonsguarantee.scot website.

The Young Person’s Guarantee was one of the main recommendations of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery.

The £60 million Young Person’s Guarantee is part of a total of £100 million for employment support and training announced by the Scottish Government to tackle employment challenges. £10 million of this will be used to support a range of measures to recruit and retain apprentices.