Question reference: S4W-00549
- Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 7 June 2011
-
Current status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 22 June 2011
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to reduce youth unemployment in North Ayrshire.
Answer
The Scottish Government is continuing to support North Ayrshire Council to identify opportunities to boost employment and solutions to counter youth unemployment. For young people at the beginning of the employability pipeline, the delivery of 16+ Learning Choices has enabled North Ayrshire and its key partners to strengthen school to post-school transition planning, with more young people progressing into a positive and sustained destination, including employment.
Starting in 2010-11, Skills Development Scotland has aligned its pre-employment programmes, Get Ready for Work and Training for Work, with local labour markets, including those in North Ayrshire, through a co-commissioning process with community planning partnerships. This approach is designed to ensure our employability programmes respond effectively to local labour market needs.
Councillor David O’Neill, Leader of North Ayrshire Council, has recently written to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth and I have responded as I have portfolio responsibility for learning and skills. In that reply, I have asked that colleagues in North Ayrshire continue to liaise with senior government officials to work proactively on this issue. I will maintain a close interest in this work as it develops.