Disadvantaged young people across Perth and Kinross will be helped into work by a new digital skills centre, thanks to an £80,000 grant.
Perth and District YMCA will offer workshops in everything from coding to graphic design using the money from the National Lottery Young Start fund.
The Y Media digital skills hub is aimed at young people who struggle to get into work, with a particular emphasis on girls as there are so few females in technology industries.
It is hoped the skills learnt can be used to help students into work, further education or even to start up their own businesses.
Perth and District YMCA youth worker Tony Dellaquaglia said: “The project exists to help people from various backgrounds, with a particular focus on young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and girls because the industry is saturated with men.
“We are creating a hub for young people all over Perth and Kinross to access training and experience, to give them a platform to launch either careers or further study in digital skills, whether that is graphic design, web design, 3D animation, coding and programming or sound editing.
“The grant has been a massive encouragement. We have been trying to do this since 2012 but we have always been small-scale. We had great ambition but we didn’t have the resources to realise those ambitions and deliver on the goals young people have.”
The hub will be based inside the Perth and District YMCA offices in Charlotte Street. Almost 200 young people are expected to take part over three years and it is hoped they can take workshops into schools to access hundreds more pupils.
The funding was welcomed by John Swinney, Scotland education minister and MSP for Perthshire North, and Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, who visited the hub on Friday.
Mr Swinney said: “This is clearly a very significant level of funding, which is a testament to the important and effective work being undertaken by Perth and District YMCA.
“I am particularly pleased to hear that the funding will be used to develop a digital skills hub for young people. This is a modern, practical investment that will increase educational and employment opportunities for young adults across Perthshire.”
Mr Wishart said: “I know this valuable cash injection will make a huge difference to young people in Perthshire and I am particularly delighted to hear that it will be used to develop the digital skills hub.
“Equipping our young people with the digital skills that they need is hugely important and will really help with future training and employment opportunities.
“I look forward to meeting the volunteers and young service users when the project is up and running.”
