A pioneering pilot scheme in the North-east is assessing the standard of links between education and business.
The DYW Quality Accreditation is being awarded to partnerships that encourage the employment of young people and that meet a core set of standards to support the development of excellence in the region.
The initiative has been designed by the Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) team based at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, and is being closely monitored by the Scottish Government with a view to a potential national roll-out.
DYW project manager Rachel Elliott said: “There is a wide range of projects across the region that link schools to business, which can be confusing for everyone involved.
“Our Quality Accreditation gives employers, school and pupils an assurance that a particular organisation, initiative or programme meets a minimum set of requirements and is one part of our efforts to increase the number of business engaging with schools.
“Our aim is that once accredited, employers – and the pupils who have gone through the initiative – recognise the links as valuable qualifications and positive links to the world of work.
“We have already completed a pilot with Career Ready, a charity which prepares young people for the world of work, and it will be the first organisation in Scotland to be awarded the DYW Quality Accreditation.”
Isobel Maughan, regional manager at Career Ready, said: “With our many years of experience in preparing young people for the world of work and their future career destiny, we are delighted for the Career Ready programme and practices to be accredited in this way.
“Our experience and partnerships, along with our quality assurance and evaluation processes, were key to our accreditation.
“The timing is great too – we will be able to celebrate the news at our Launch Event on September 22 at the Beach Ballroom, when 80 young people from North-east schools start their two-year Career Ready programme and meet their mentors, who come from a from a wide range of local and national employers.”
The accreditation itself is being carried out by Nadine Geraghty, who has been seconded from Amec Foster Wheeler as part of a commitment to develop the region’s talent.
Craig Shanaghey, interim managing director for Amec Foster Wheeler, Upstream Asset Solutions, said: “We’re delighted Nadine has been selected for this opportunity with DYW.
“At Amec Foster Wheeler we’re committed to investing in people and developing new talent into the industry so it’s great that we can support the local community by building closer links between schools and industry.”