Young people in South West Scotland to benefit from new jobs drive.
A £60 million programme to support young people in South West Scotland into secure and sustainable employment has been launched today.
The funding is from the European Commission’s Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) which aims to tackle high levels of youth unemployment across the European Union.
The substantial investment precedes Monday’s Scottish Government travelling cabinet in West Dunbartonshire, one of the areas that will benefit from the investment.
Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham said:
“The overall Scottish youth unemployment level and rate fell to their lowest September-November figures since 2006 in figures released last month so it is very clear that much progress has being made in supporting more young women and men into jobs.
“However, we will not be complacent or lose sight of the fact that, just a few years ago, the global financial crisis saw youth unemployment in South West Scotland rise to over 25 per cent, an unacceptable level.
“That is why we published Developing the Young Workforce – Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy which contains a range of actions aimed at cutting youth unemployment by 40 per cent by 2021.
“The investment being announced today will provide a fantastic boost to efforts to improve employment prospects in the area and should be welcomed by young people and employers alike.”
Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities Keith Brown added:
“The £60 million Youth Employment Initiative is a significant level of investment in a region which has faced high levels of youth unemployment over a number of years, particularly at the recession’s peak.
“The programme will support a wide range of activities to help young people find employment and provide them with the skills that local employers say they are looking for in the local workforce.
“While the most recent European youth employment figures show that Scotland compares well to a large number of member states we know that challenges remain. The Youth Employment Initiative again demonstrates the value of working with the European Commission to drive forward our economic growth.”
Notes to Editors
YEI provides qualifying Member States with financial support which is additional to mainstream European Structural Fund allocations. The funds focus on EU regions where youth unemployment levels reached 25 per cent or more based on 2012 figures. Based on these figures, YEI in Scotland is restricted to the South West Scotland region where it aims to support young people not in education, employment or training.
The funding covers the period up to December 2018 and is split between the Scottish Funding Council (£28 million) and local authorities in South West Scotland.
The YEI funding allocations are:
Dumfries and Galloway Council £1,113,298.82
East Ayrshire Council £1,950,000.00
East Ayrshire Council Consortium*) £1,015,050.00
East Dunbartonshire Council £134,000.00
Glasgow City Council £7,966,992.00
Inverclyde Council £920,000.00
North Ayrshire Council £2,130,000.00
North Lanarkshire Council £5,019,999.78
Renfrewshire Council £5,030,253.40
South Ayrshire Council £647,950.50
South Lanarkshire Council £2,984,190.00
South Lanarkshire Council £632,298.00
West Dunbartonshire Council £1,744,196.20
Scottish Funding Council £27,954,825.00
