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The Review of the implementation of the Career Education Standard (3-18), the Work Placement Standard and Guidance on School/Employer Partnerships (May 2017) by Education Scotland found that most schools they visited had developed their links with local and national employers in order to provide meaningful work-based learning opportunities for young people.

The DYW industry led Regional Groups are playing an integral part in establishing school-employer partnerships. Across Scotland, all 21 DYW Regional Groups are building a bridge between education and employers through work inspiration activity, work placements and establishing long-term strategic partnerships. We are beginning to see Secondary schools harnessing opportunities presented through industry partnerships. The DYW Regional Groups are working closely with key partners to develop a shared understanding of the needs of employers and schools in each region.

We are currently working with the network of DYW Regional Groups and Local Authority DYW leads on how best to capture progress on school employer partnerships that recognises the range of productive partnerships that exist.

Last year the pilot of the Discovering Your Potential (DYP) employability programme, led by a consortium of Barnardo's, Action for Children and the Princes Trust, was launched with the aim of supporting 270 young care experienced people. The programme actually delivered mentoring support, training and work experience to 326 young people, 130 of whom are still receiving mentoring support from the partners of the Consortium. To date 45 young people have moved into jobs, 69 into further education and 8 into other advanced training. The Consortium's plans for DYP in its second year, are to provide support, training and work experience to a further 270 young people.

The DYP programme is in addition to the support provided year on year to young care leavers through other SG funded employability programmes, such as: Community Jobs Scotland; Activity Agreements; and the Inspiring Scotland 14:19 Fund.

There are 9 organisations that deal with mentoring within the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI / ALEC) Fund. The CYPFEI aspect of the Fund aims to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families, improving parenting capacity and family support.

The following table provides mentoring data for these organisations. The data includes both ‘children’ and young people.

Education Scotland (ES) monitors the effectiveness of careers guidance provided by SDS, schools and colleges on behalf of Scottish Government. The monitoring takes the form of external reviews based on the Framework for External Quality Review of Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Careers Information, Advice and Guidance, created in partnership by ES, SDS and the Scottish Government.

Each review is led by an Inspector of Education and supported by a team of other HMI colleagues and associate assessors from SDS. The outcomes of the reviews are taken into the local authority Continuous Improvement Action Plan which sets out how the teams plan to address the main points for action and the expected outcomes. 18 months after the initial review, ES revisit the local authority team to monitor progress against the main points for action.

In addition, How Good Is Our School?4 and How Good Is Our College? Support schools and colleges to continually evaluate and improve the career services they offer students and make judgements on how well learners are developing their career management skills.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) deliver our Career Information, Advice and Guidance services in all state secondary schools, including additional support needs schools, throughout Scotland. The majority of SDS’s in-school services are delivered face-to-face, with at least one dedicated member of careers staff working in every state secondary school. The school service offer in every school now includes:

• At P7/S1 transition, every young person is entitled to have a face-to-face engagement with SDS Careers staff to support their transition.
• At S2/S3 subject choice, every young person is entitled to have a face-to-face engagement with SDS Careers staff to support this key decision-making phase. This will be in a group setting and then followed up with the entitlement of an individual 1:1 guidance interview.
• In S3, a needs based approach identifies those young people who require targeted enhanced support and these individuals are entitled to, as a minimum, a 1:1 guidance session.
• From S4 through to S6, targeted support is available to young people who have been identified as requiring it through the validation and needs based approach. This will include multiple 1:1 sessions as part of an ongoing coaching relationship with the SDS Careers Adviser.
• All young people are entitled to a face to face engagement with the Careers Adviser in a group session throughout the senior phase during their preparations for leaving.

SDS’s work with teachers and parents/carers includes:

• A suite of lesson plans and resources, co-designed with teachers, to support delivery of the Career Education Standard in the classroom, from P5 upwards.
• Capacity building for teachers to support delivery of the Career Education Standard
• Development of career long professional learning modules for teachers in collaboration with Education Scotland covering, Career Management Skills, Career Education Standard, My World of Work and Labour Market Information
• Parental engagement from P7/S1 to S6 with a one to one offer for parents/carers during S2 or S3 subject choice
• Dedicated parents area in My World of Work

Within all state secondary schools, SDS also offers ‘Marketplace’ which improves engagement between employers and young people while they are still in school. It has been developed in partnership with Scotland’s regional Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce (DYW) groups.

Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs) are being actively promoted by SDS’s careers and guidance staff as a work-based learning opportunity for senior phase secondary school pupils as one of their subject choices in S4-S6. This is in line with our ambition to have FAs within all state secondary schools over the next two years.

There are currently two distinct products available under the Scottish Growth Scheme: the Scottish European Growth Co-Investment Programme (SEGCP); and the new and additional funding for the SME Holding Fund.

Under the SEGCP, Scottish Enterprise is providing a package of support to help individual companies (seeking £2 million to £10 million of equity investment) become investor ready and working with the European Investment Fund in introducing companies seeking this investment to relevant accredited VC Fund Managers. The ultimate decision on eligibility will be for the European Investment Fund.

The funding for the SME Holding Fund is aimed at companies seeking up to £2 million of equity investment. It is delivered directly by Scottish Enterprise alongside individual private sector investors, mainly business angel syndicates. It is normally private sector investors who would source the individual investment deals, with Scottish Enterprise having the ultimate decision on eligibility.

Under both, the public sector investments are made on the same commercial terms as the private sector investor and the public sector will share equally in the commercial returns generated.

The Scottish Growth Scheme became operational in 2017 with the introduction of the Scottish European Growth Co-investment Programme and the new and additional funding for the SME Holding Fund.

In 2017 just over £23m had been dispersed to 25 companies.

Up to end January 2018, £775,000 had been dispersed to 2 companies.