Developing the Young Workforce, a Scottish government funded initiative, is working to help young people in Dundee and Angus see a bright future.
Business is booming in Dundee and Angus, with the arrival of the V&A giving the area a renewed lease of life.
There are so many opportunities for young people, but how can businesses ensure that they have a good pipeline of talent for the future, and that young people are coming out of school with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the world of work?
What DYW does
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) is a Scottish Government funded initiative, with 21 regional groups across Scotland.
The team of six at DYW Dundee and Angus share an office with the local Chamber of Commerce, and are hosted by Dundee & Angus College, ensuring that they have good links with both local business and education.
The team’s role is to bring together education and industry so that young people are inspired about their career choices and find out what being in work is like.
Employers benefit from having young people coming into their business knowing what is expected of them, and having skills which are easily transferable from the classroom to employment.
“Many young people have no idea what they want to do when they leave school, or think that going to university is the only way they are going to develop their career,” explained Hilary Roberts, the DYW D&A Manager.
“We help to demonstrate that there are lots of ways of getting into the job you want, and give young people the opportunity to sample jobs in different key sectors. This could be through promoting and facilitating work placements and apprenticeships, or organising careers events and talks.
“However what we are most keen to develop are sustainable partnerships between businesses and schools or the college.
“We have some great examples of project based learning where a business sets a challenge for a class to develop a new product, for example, or a group of pupils get to visit the business and get hands-on experience of what it is like to work there.”
Arbroath Academy’s story
Arbroath Academy is a great example of a school benefitting from a whole range of interactions with businesses set up with the help of the DYW team, including Project Barracuda.
Local fish firm Dawnfresh set Home Economics pupils a challenge to develop a new fish product, using ingredients provided by the firm. This not only gave participants skills in cooking fish, but they also learned about teamwork, communication, marketing, branding and presentation skills.
Local contact centre Journeycall developed a project with the school’s Business Studies class to develop a new transport product to help meet the needs of a specific market sector, such as elderly people.
Again, the pupils learned about teamwork and presentation skills. As well as thinking about what their product would look like, they had to include a marketing plan and pricing strategy.
Monkbarns Care Home, part of the Balhousie Group, worked with pupils across a number of departments. Staff members brought equipment into school which showed pupils what it was like to live with dementia and what special requirements their residents had.
In return, pupils visited Monkbarns and prepared an afternoon tea, and the music department organised entertainment for a Christmas party.
Gillian Alcorn, Depute Head at Arbroath Academy said: “Working on projects directly with businesses has made a significant impact on our pupils.
“They get inspiration from having contact with people in work, and it makes them think about the career path that is right for them. Some get a greater insight into an area of work that already interested them, and others may choose to do something they hadn’t thought about before.
“Having input from the businesses also helps develop communication skills and confidence so the young people are more prepared for going into a work situation.”
The benefits to businesses are clear – giving up some time to invest in young people ensures that there is a mature, knowledgeable workforce in the future, and that this workforce will stay in the area if they have the skills and aspirations that match the jobs available.
The DYW Dundee and Angus team would love to hear from any business that would be interested in working in partnership with education in any way large or small. Contact the team on 01382 443409 or contact@dywda.co.uk.
