£5m Euro cash boost to keep youngsters out of dole queue

EDINBURGH has been awarded more than £5 million of European funding to help young people from disadvantaged areas find work.

The cash will help finance projects including training by the fire service for 14-19 year olds, programmes putting youngsters in touch with employers and offering volunteering opportunities.

Just last week it was revealed almost one in six school leavers in the Capital is going straight on to the dole. And Edinburgh's "NEET" rate – young people Not in Employment, Education or Training – is significantly above the national average.

Council chiefs say the city has 2200 young people aged 16-19 who are not in employment or training. The extra funding, which is being channelled through the Edinburgh Community Planning Partnership, was announced by Finance Secretary John Swinney in a letter to city council leader Jenny Dawe.

Cllr Dawe said she was delighted the Scottish Government had agreed to support initiatives to help boost job opportunities for people in disadvantaged communities, adding: "This is excellent news for the city. It will enable targeted training and support to be provided to those who are experiencing difficulty in entering the labour market."

The cash comes from the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund, which Scotland will soon no longer qualify for because there are now many poorer countries in the European Union.

The Government invited bids from community planning partnerships all over Scotland.

Edinburgh's bid was ranked fourth out of 13 across the country in terms of quality and the partnership was awarded the full amount it asked for.

Specific initiatives which the new cash will fund include fire service-led training for 14-19 year olds. The "Cool Down Crew" project aims to give the youngsters a taste of what it is like to be in the fire service.

There will also be a comprehensive package of school-based vocational programmes and "pre-work" courses to help youngsters prepare for the world of work.

Another scheme will match schools showing the highest NEET figures with employers to develop closer relationships.

And a "job brokerage" programme, which aims to engage 1000 employers in the city, will identify companies' recruitment needs and seek to match these to training and support programmes for unemployed young people.

There will also be outreach work through GP surgeries, volunteering opportunities and measures to help vulnerable groups join the workforce.

Of the 3692 teenagers who left city schools last year, 1901 of them went into further or higher education, while 1063 got a job and 118 went into a training scheme.

The proportion of school leavers who do not go on to employment or training is 15.9 per cent in the Capital, compared with the national average of 12.3 per cent.