Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education Sign up to the Young Person's Guarantee
Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education Sign up to the Young Person's Guarantee
The Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education is one of the first organisations in the Dundee and Angus area to sign up to The Young Person’s Guarantee, as part of a Scottish Government initiative.
The Young Person’s Guarantee commits to bringing together employers, partners, and young people. It aims to connect all young people (16–25-year olds) to a job, placement, training or volunteer opportunity to tackle youth unemployment and provide young people with the right skills.
The initiative aims to prepare young people for the world of work, create opportunities for young people who face the greatest barriers to work, invest in a skilled workforce, create jobs and apprentices, all while developing an inclusive and fair workplace.
Head of College, Dr A G Abubaker said, “Al-Maktoum College is a place of equal opportunity, where an individual’s potential and ability is valued over their background. It is an establishment where support is available and welcome to all.
We understand the challenges faced by individuals seeking work placements and training opportunities and recognize that this has been made significantly more difficult by the global pandemic. The College is pleased to be supporting young people and the decision to sign up to The Young Persons’ Guarantee only reinforces our commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and developing the next generation of professionals.
In putting the initiative into practice, the College intends to offer work placements, Foundation Apprenticeships, work inspiration activities in building CVs, personal statements and delivering mock interviews, as well as mentorship opportunities to young people across the local area.
To find out more about the Young Person's Guarantee get in touch with Developing the Young Workforce Dundee and Angus at contact@dywtaycities.co.uk
HMS Unicorn Sign up to the Young Person's Guarantee
HMS Unicorn Sign up to the Young Person's Guarantee
HMS Unicorn is the latest organisation in the Dundee and Angus area to sign up to the Scottish Government initiative The Young Person's Guarantee.
The Young Person’s Guarantee commits to bringing together employers, partners and young people. It aims to connect all 16-24 year olds to a job, placement, training or volunteer opportunity to tackle youth unemployment and provide young people with the right skills.
Matthew Moran, HMS Unicorn Museum Manager said, “We are delighted to sign up to the Young Person’s Guarantee. At HMS Unicorn we pride ourselves on the opportunities and experiences we can provide to young people through volunteering and employment, and the Guarantee is a confirmation our commitment to continuously supporting our young people to grow and develop.
We have 2 placements through the Kickstart program and we work with colleges and schools to offer placements and internships. We will be continuing to work on partnership projects with PAMIS (Promoting a More Inclusive Society) and Kingspark School to help improve The Unicorn Preservation Society and HMS Unicorn as a more inclusive and accessible workplace.
As a local museum it is essential that we provide a social good for everyone, and the YPG gives us the framework to continue to do so for young people.”
The initiative has five ways employers can show their support to young people – by preparing young people for the world of work, creating opportunities for young people who face the greatest barriers to work, investing in a skilled workforce, creating jobs and apprenticeships, and developing an inclusive and fair workplace. The HMS Unicorn aims to support the Young Person's Guarantee by creating various paid developmental roles for young people, taking part in work inspiration events, developing youth-specific volunteering positions, supporting job creation programmes and participating in partnership projects to continue to create an inclusive workplace.
To find out more about the Young Person's Guarantee get in touch with Developing the Young Workforce Dundee and Angus at contact@dywtaycities.co.uk
Dundee & Angus Pupils Offered a Virtual Escape from the Classroom
Dundee & Angus Pupils Offered a Virtual Escape from the Classroom
Pupils in all secondary schools across Dundee and Angus are being given the opportunity to experience what life is like in a variety of businesses across the area without leaving their classroom. DYW Dundee & Angus has funded a virtual reality headset for each school, and commissioned media production company Airborne Lens to produce a series of six ‘360 degree’ virtual tours. This will enable the young people to see around business premises from industry sectors including engineering, agriculture and culture.
Alison Henderson, CEO of Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce, and interim Chair of DYW Dundee & Angus said, “Even before the pandemic turned our lives upside down, it was difficult for schools to take groups of young people on site visits. The varying pressures on teaching staff, costs of transport, and timetable constraints made visits of this type complicated and expensive. Then of course we went into lockdown and any visits that did take place had to stop. Site visits are an important part of career education, giving young people the chance to be in the workplace and see what the working conditions are like. We were keen to come up with an innovative solution to fill this gap, and so the idea for virtual tours was developed. We are delighted with the result, and hope that the area’s young people are too.”
Dale Harris of Dundee engineering firm ATL Turbine Services added, “We were only too happy to help with this project and contribute to it with a virtual tour of our premises. We are always keen to help inspire young people. They are the work force of the future and an important element of our talent pipeline. This is a great way to show them what goes on here, without having to travel and be here in person.”
The contributing businesses are ATL Turbine Services, Angus Soft Fruit, Forth Ports, Angus Alive, The Circle, and Dundee & Angus College. The hope is that if the headsets prove popular, more films can be added in the coming months.
“Our pupils are loving this new way of getting to know local businesses”, said Anna McFarlane, the DYW Co-ordinator at St Paul’s RC Academy. “The last academic session was very difficult for schools, but career education remains high on our agenda, and the VR headsets have added a fun new element to this.”
Career Inspiration Series - Paris Smart, No1 Currency
Career Inspiration Series - Paris Smart, No1 Currency
Mentorship Opportunity with Dundee Stars
Mentorship Opportunity with Dundee Stars
The Dundee Stars are Tayside's professional ice hockey club currently playing in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).
They have a unique flexible 6-month opportunity for a young person aged 16 to 24 years from Dundee or Angus, to be mentored by the club.
The opportunity includes monthly one-to-one mentoring sessions with Dundee Stars Head Coach Omar Pacha. In addition to this they will have the opportunity to experience other elements of the Dundee Stars Business, such as business development, marketing, events management and sports health and wellbeing.
This is a very flexible opportunity and will be delivered to suit the time commitment the young person can make. It is open to young people whether at school or college, working, in training or unemployed. It can be delivered face to face at Dundee Ice Arena, virtually through Teams/ Zoom or Google Meet – or as a blend of both.
To apply for this opportunity young people should submit a written statement of no more than 250 words or a video no longer than 2 minutes long. Applications should outline why they want this opportunity, what they hope to gain form the mentorship and how it will help them with their future or current career.
Applications should be emailed to DYW Dundee & Angus at contact@dywtaycities.co.uk by 7th September 2021.
Please note there is no payment to the young person attached to this opportunity.
Find out more about the background of the mentorship here
Dundee Stars Mentorship Launched as Young People Look for Confidence Boost
Dundee Stars Mentorship Launched as Young People Look for Confidence Boost
A mentorship opportunity with Dundee Stars has been launched as young people across Dundee & Angus have revealed a lack of confidence is one of the biggest hurdles they face when it comes to entering the workforce, following findings by Developing the Young Workforce Dundee & Angus (DYW).
Age and a lack of experience were identified as two other barriers young people face when trying to join the workforce, in a survey of 200 local young people, attributed to the lack of opportunity in obtaining work experience and internships in the wake of the pandemic.
The study was carried out in a bid to better understand the challenges facing those entering the workforce for the first time as DYW aims to help young people step-into the world of work by providing contextualised learning opportunities, bridging the gap between employers and education.
Partnering with Dundee Stars, DYW Dundee & Angus hope to showcase some of the ways that confidence, communication and digital skills, the top three most important skills young people identified as feeling they needed to help their careers, can be developed. The mentorship will begin prior to the start of the season in September, allowing the mentee to see the season build up and behind the scenes, meet the players and also shadow various roles within the back room and media team.
Alison Henderson, Chair of the Regional DYW D&A Board, said: “This study has given us the opportunity to gain insight into the challenges facing our young people when the usual support systems have had to adapt due to Covid limitations.
“Our young people are having a crisis of confidence with one-in-five not knowing how to gain the skills they feel they are lacking, further cementing the importance of working with the next generation of our local workforce to give them the best start possible.
“The survey highlighted sports, health, and social care as the most popular sector for young people, and so we are thrilled to announce our partnership with professional ice hockey team, Dundee Stars, offering the chance for one young person to win a six-month mentorship.
“DYW has vast experience connecting with local employers to help equip young people with the skillset needed for success in the workplace, with access to work based learning opportunities, including developing transferable skills such as communication and teamwork. This mentorship embodies that mindset of skills development.”
The opportunity includes monthly one-to-one mentoring sessions with Dundee Stars Head Coach Omar Pacha, alongside the chance to experience various elements of the Dundee Stars Business, everything from events management to team training and marketing.
Omar Pacha said: “The winner will get the chance to experience different aspects of Dundee Stars business and team, allowing them to interact with a wide range of roles and help them make an educated choice about their next steps in life. Running a successful sporting team takes input from a vast array of experts so this is a way of getting insight in a compressed way that could truly help shape their future career path.”
To enter anyone aged 16 to 24 living in Dundee & Angus is being asked send in a video or written entry to contact@dywtaycities.co.uk stating why they should win the six-month mentorship. T&Cs: Written entries of no more than 250 words and video entries no longer than 2 minutes will be accepted. Closing date is 7th September 2021.