Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, Youth Employment and Training
I am writing to notify the Committee of the publication of the Young Person’s Guarantee – Implementation Progress Report on 28 July. The report highlights the progress made against the initial recommendations within Youth Guarantee - No-one Left Behind: initial report, as well as outlining the next steps against the commitments made in the supporting Activity Plan. Publication of the report is accompanied by the Key Performance Indicators, which as part of the broader Measurement and Evaluation Framework, will support our understanding of the impact of the Young Person’s Guarantee across a range of economic, education and equalities outcomes. We are also working to develop evaluation plans that will help better understand the experiences of young people, delivery partners and businesses who engage with the Young Person’s Guarantee. It is anticipated that these plans will be finalised in late summer and I am happy to provide the Committee with a further update in due course.
The initial report, which was developed by Sandy Begbie in response to impact of the pandemic, made clear that for the Young Person’s Guarantee to be a success it must be developed and delivered in partnership in order to achieve the shared ambition and principles. I am pleased to say that this collaborative approach with young people, employers, schools, colleges, universities, local government, Skills Development Scotland as well as third and voluntary sector organisations has made tangible progress against the recommendations and we are committed to ensuring the opportunities are enduring and sustainable.
Young people themselves have responded well to the challenges of the last 16 months often demonstrating great flexibility, ingenuity and resilience. So too have our teachers, lecturers, trainers, key workers, delivery partners and employers. However, it remains crucial that we continue to build on this to support young people to achieve their potential. The Scottish Government has made an additional £70 million available in 2021/22 to underpin the delivery of the Young Person’s Guarantee and in addition to my appointment as lead Minister, we have also delivered on the relevant manifesto commitments contained within First Steps for including:
Investing £45 million through local partnerships to provide training and employer recruitment incentives;
Whilst acknowledging the progress achieved to date, it is important that we continue at pace, to deliver the changes necessary to reform the landscape for young people and ensure they remain connected with the opportunities available to them. In doing so, I look forward to updating the Committee as we work towards delivering our promise to young people.