Today, on Europe Day, I was pleased to stand up in the Scottish Parliament and announce a cash boost of around £25 million from the European Structural Funds, to get young people into real jobs.
European Structural Funds have, for many years, played a significant role in facilitating structural economic reform in Scotland, supporting restructuring and development in key sectors and supporting opportunities and individuals in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. As the Minister responsible for Structural Funds, I am delighted at the positive impact these Funds have made and continue to make.
Already, we have allocated over £650 million since 2007, supporting over 14,000 businesses, creating nearly 20,000 jobs and providing advice and support to over 240,000 individuals to enter employment or to progress in the workplace. These figures show that we are delivering projects that provide real added value.
I have made it clear that we will take an all-Government, all-Scotland approach to youth employment. We will work together with the public, private and third sectors. We want to break the cycle that too many of our young people find themselves unable to escape from. Of course the global financial downturn means these are tough times, but by incentivising recruitment and getting young people into jobs we can start to break that cycle.
This is why I will be asking the Structural Funds Programme Monitoring Committee to prioritise youth employment with the Structural Funds remaining unallocated in the period up to 2014. I want the focus of these funds to be incentivising the recruitment of young people into jobs, building on the £30 million already committed by the Scottish Government to youth employment.
I encourage everyone to contribute and tell us how you think this money should be spent.
Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment.
May 14, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Dear Mr Alex Neil, 14/05/2012
£25 Million for Youth Employment
I was guided to the discussion by an officer at the Scottish Government’s Intermediate Administrative Branch.
We, Edinburgh World Heritage, are a charitable trust set up to promote, conserve and assist the City of Edinburgh Council as well as Historic Scotland in the management of the World Heritage Site through coordinated action. The World Heritage Site area covers the city centre of the Capital of Scotland, which raises many significant issues affecting the Capitol’s community.
We have a broad experience in managing and conserving the historic city centre facing the following challenges:
• sustainable and responsive development in the context of physical conservation;
• management of public spaces, which is a big issue in Edinburgh flagged up at various public consultations by the community and stakeholders;
• energy efficiency of historic buildings and fuel poverty;
• community engagement through promotion, learning and education. Community is our main capital and all projects are developed in collaboration with various community groups.
We have just made first steps towards formal engagement with European Programmes. Currently we are waiting for a decision on funding for a project under Leonardo da Vinci Fund, which we would be coordinating (as the leader) in collaboration with Warsaw, Prague, Vilnius, Ferrara and Vienna. We have hosted several foreign visits interested in the way we manage the World Heritage Site.
Edinburgh World Heritage Internships.
We run non-paid but very popular internships for local international students. We used to offer paid student work placements, which proved to be highly effective. All of our interns successfully stayed in the sector becoming experts working for various organisations and businesses such as GVA Grimley, Historic Scotland, Scottish Lime Centre, Future for Religious Heritage, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Rochdale City Council, Recycling Institute, Strathclyde Building Preservation Trust, the City of Regensburg Council, the Warsaw School of Economics.
Our internships allow young people engaging with professionals and decision making processes on daily basis thanks to close collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council, Historic Scotland and broad range of other local, national and international stakeholders. Provision of training for international students allows us to send out the best Scottish “ambassadors”.
Issues
Our aspiration is to develop a strong and even more recognisable programme of internships. However our capacity is heavily limited following substantial funding cuts received from our sponsors as a result of general need for savings in public budgets. This encouraged us to seek alternative sources of funding such donations or European Programmes to build up on a positive track record. Also it means that our managers cannot devote more time to delivery and management of internships. Hopefully, this situation will change thanks to European Structural Funds.
I strongly believe that the raised discussion is a great opportunity for small organisations such as Edinburgh World Heritage to flag up their achievements in supporting youth employment in Scotland. Moreover, it is an opportunity to draw attention of the Government to what is being done at the local level and the scale of help required to continue positive change.
We are looking forward to see how the discussion develops hoping that the needs of organisations such ours will be addressed in its outcomes.
Yours sincerely,
Krzysztof Jan Chuchra
Urban Analyst
Edinburgh World Heritage
5 Bakehouse Close, 146 Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DD
T: 0131 220 7729
M: 07598919579
E: krzysztof@ewht.org.uk
W: http://www.ewht.org.uk
Registered in Scotland No. 195077. Scottish charity No. SC037183
May 14, 2012 at 3:30 pm
Dear Mr Alex Neil, 14/05/2012
£25 Million for Youth Employment
I was guided to the discussion by an officer at the Scottish Government’s Intermediate Administrative Branch.
I work for Edinburgh World Heritage, a charitable company set up to promote, conserve and assist the City of Edinburgh Council as well as Historic Scotland in the management of the World Heritage Site through coordinated action. The World Heritage Site area covers the city centre of the Capital of Scotland, which raises many significant issues affecting the Capital’s community.
We have broad experience in managing and conserving the historic city centre, facing the following challenges:
• Sustainable and responsive development in the context of physical conservation;
• Management of public spaces, a major issue in Edinburgh, repeatedly flagged up at public consultations by the community and stakeholders;
• Sensitively addressing the energy efficiency of historic buildings and fuel poverty;
• Community engagement through promotion, learning and educational activities. Community is one of our main assets and all projects are developed in collaboration with various community groups.
We are currently taking the first steps towards formal engagement with European Programmes. Currently we are awaiting a decision on funding for a project under Leonardo da Vinci Fund, which we would be coordinating (as the leader) in collaboration with Warsaw, Prague, Vilnius, Ferrara and Vienna. We regularly host international visitors interested in learning about how we manage the World Heritage Site with our partners.
Edinburgh World Heritage Internships
We run non-paid but very popular internships for international students. We have in the past offered paid student work placements, which proved to be highly effective. The majority of our interns remained in the sector, becoming experts working for various organisations and businesses such as GVA Grimley, Historic Scotland, Scottish Lime Centre, Future for Religious Heritage, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Rochdale City Council, Recycling Institute, Strathclyde Building Preservation Trust, the City of Regensburg Council, the Warsaw School of Economics.
Our internships allow young people to engage with professionals and decision-making processes on a daily basis thanks to close collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council, Historic Scotland and a broad range of other local, national and international stakeholders. The provision of training for international students allows us to send out the best Scottish “ambassadors”.
Issues
Our aspiration is to develop a strong and even more recognisable programme of internships. However our capacity is heavily constrained following substantial funding cuts from our governmental sponsors as a result of general reductions in public budgets. Before these cuts took place, the Board of EWH adopted a strategy of seeking alternative sources of funding, such donations from individuals and the private sector, or European Programmes, to build up on our positive track record. Although the strategy is meeting with success, it means that our managers cannot devote more time to delivery and management of internships. Hopefully, this situation will change as we succeed in applications to European Structural Funds such as those represented by this consultation.
I strongly believe that this consultation raises a great opportunity for small organisations such as Edinburgh World Heritage to flag up their achievements in supporting youth employment in Scotland. Moreover, it is an opportunity to draw the attention of the Scottish Government to what is being achieved at a local level, and the scale of help required to continue positive change.
We are looking forward to see how the discussion develops hoping that the needs of organisations such ours will be addressed in its outcomes, in the knowledge that small scale, local action can be just as effective and more sustainable as large scale initiatives.
Yours sincerely,
Krzysztof Jan Chuchra
Urban Analyst
Edinburgh World Heritage
5 Bakehouse Close, 146 Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DD
T: 0131 220 7729
W: http://www.ewht.org.uk
Registered in Scotland No. 195077. Scottish charity No. SC037183
May 16, 2012 at 11:36 am
Children in Scotland proposes that the Structural Funds be
constructively applied to support the development of universal Early
Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and school age childcare provision
across Scotland. As well as addressing the significant barrier to
employment resulting from the current shortfall in these services,
this approach could advance a number of key government policy
objectives and improve the wellbeing of Scotland’s children and their
families.
Employment and the economy
The Chief Economist’s latest report states that “the labour market
remains a key challenge”, with current unemployment running at 8.1%.
Women’s employment has been particularly hard hit: unemployment among women is at its highest UK level for 23 years, while in Scotland the number of women claiming unemployment benefits rose by 15%. The result is that fewer children,
particularly in the 0-3 age group, are accessing ECEC as lower maternal employment levels reduce demand for places. This is of particular concern, given that children under three are the poorest single group in Scottish society.
This situation has led to a contraction of available places, in turn impacting adversely on children’s early development, and particularly affecting children who are already poor and disadvantaged. The First Minister, in his address to the STUC on 24 April 2012, stated that jobs were “this government’s top priority” and that “one of the most pressing issues that we must tackle is unemployment among women”. A national infrastructure of good quality ECEC is absolutely essential to realising these ambitions as it makes employment both possible and economically preferable.
Growth in childcare provision potentially represents a valuable contribution towards stimulating economic growth. More people in the workforce means higher consumption, thus supporting business viability and expansion. Expanding ECEC could create a substantial number of new employment opportunities within the sector itself. This in turn promotes sustainability of communities and community life, which is of particular importance in rural areas. It would also result in fewer people claiming benefits and more paying tax. A recent report by the IPPR sets out the economic case for investing in childcare. It demonstrates that the resultant increase in tax and insurance contributions by mothers would provide a net return on investment for the Government. Childcare therefore more than pays for itself. Of
course this income would directly accrue to the UK Treasury, as would the savings on benefit claims. The Scottish Government could, however, enter into negotiations with the UK Government to seek a commitment on the return of savings to Scotland were the Scottish Government to make the up-front investment.
The creation of jobs in the childcare sector would present other valuable opportunities for Scotland. Unemployment among the 18-24 age group in Scotland has risen by 1250% over the past four years. Getting these young people onto constructive and progressive career pathways is one of the Government’s top
current priorities. There is, however, an opportunity inherent in this otherwise difficult situation. The increase in unemployment, particularly among women and young people, created a pool of people available for work or training, and this group will include individuals with the appropriate skills, attributes and interests to
work with children.
Of course Children in Scotland has long encouraged progress on gender equality issues and the potential of increasing male representation in the children’s workforce could also be addressed.
May 16, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Thank you for your contribution Marion I will pass on your comments.
May 17, 2012 at 6:37 am
Marion I will pass your comments on to Susan Bolt in our Early Years division.
June 23, 2012 at 10:30 pm
I think it’s important to make clear that structural funds are intended to be targeted towards employment as the ultimate goal. With unemployment, and particularly youth unemployment, so high, the Commission (rightly) favours investment being focused towards activity that will directly increase employment.
Marion – early years efforts and, in particular, preventative spending actions, are priorities under other funding areas. In particular, we should be looking at the new EU programme for social change and innovation. If led by government, there are lots of opportunities to test new models and lead these developments at the EU level – and the intervention rate is 80%.
June 26, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Good point Morag – we are having a Youth Employment Workshop in in AQ on 6th July at 12noon. I will ensure that you get an invite.