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Developing the Young Workforce Board member Brett Ingle, General Manager of Macdonald Hotel & Spa, was delighted to support Falkirk High School's DYW week.  Brett, who also works in partnership with teachers and pupils from the school, explains in this short video why young people are critical to the success of his hotel. Brett also highlights the career pathway opportunities, the key skills that are required to be a success in hospitality, as well as giving us an insight into his personal career pathway. We want to thank Brett and his team for their continued support of the young people of Forth Valley If you would like more information on the Hospitality & Tourism Industry or are interested in any other sectors please have a look at our 'Industry Insider' section of the website. Next week (1st June) we launch an awareness campaign across Scotland showcasing roles within the key sectors to make young people more aware of the types of jobs involved and what skills/qualities would be required. We want to tap into the energy of key workers to push this campaign forward and inspire the next generation. The campaign will be promoted across the social media platforms of all 21 DYW Regional Groups and will feature a variety of sectors and job roles. The young people in Scotland are the future of our workforce and we hope that this campaign inspires them into roles that have proven to be invaluable in protecting us all during this time. This pack contains all the information and resources you will need to get involved.  How can my business get involved?We would be delighted if your business can support this campaign. You can do this is two ways and we have compiled some guidance for you of things you might like to include, below. Video Take a short video of yourself talking about your role as a key worker, the skills you use, your career pathway and how young people can follow in your footsteps. Photo Using a photograph of yourself in uniform or in your working environment and share what your job is, the skills you use and what makes you proud to be a key worker. If you would like to take part in the campaign please post your completed video/photo on LinkedIn and/or twitter tagging us @DYW_ForthValley and using the hashtags #DYWKeyWorkers #AJobForEverybody  Click image to view guidance Activities for young peopleIf you are a teacher or parent you can get involved too. We want to encourage young people in the local area to take part by designing what a key worker in their area looks like or writing a poem. Activity 1 – Design your own Key Worker Design what a key worker in your community looks like using either of the templates below. If you don't have a printer simply draw us a picture or use your favourite digital tool. Describe what they do and the qualities and skills they use in their role. Activity 2 – Write your own key worker poem Write your own key worker acrostic poem using the template provided. If you would like to take part in the campaign please post your completed activity on twitter tagging us @DYW_ForthValley and using the hashtags #DYWKeyWorkers #AJobForEverybody    We look forward to seeing your #DYWKeyWorker posts next week and we thank you in advance, not only for supporting this campaign, but for the incredibly important jobs you do to keep the country moving at this challenging time.
 The Positive Transitions Programme at Braes High School in Falkirk is transforming the lives of the young people who take part. It is delivered across S3-S5 with direct involvement from the local Community Learning and Development Service (CLD) and industry partners across a number of sectors including Construction, Hospitality, 3rd Sector, Local Authority and Retail. Pupils benefit from a programme tailored to their specific areas of development and what is unique is that pupils have the opportunity to learn in school, in the wider community and during work place visits and work experience placements. Robertson Group Partnership: One significant school/education partnership within Construction has been with Robertson Group, with the unified purpose of offering a unique collaboration that encouraged young people to be immersed in a real working environment that could not be provided by school alone. The programme has been supported by a range of Robertson Group employees and sub-contractors. Pupils engaged in an enriched and blended learning experience. They had the opportunity to spend time on a live Robertson site one day per week over a six month period. The young people were able to gain tasters of multiple trades by shadowing Robertson employees and sub-contractors, working on a mud kitchen project for a local primary school. The pupils also had access to educational construction-based activities, providing them with relevant exposure to the construction industry including Health & Safety, transferable skills, further education and career pathways. The alignment of the school’s and Robertson’s values, along with the ongoing support of CLD, has led to a meaningful and successful partnership for all pupils involved. Pupils who took part were invited to apply for a 5 year, MA Trainee Site Management position, a unique opportunity created by Robertson Central East and Braes pupil Hayley Gill was successful in gaining one of the positions on offer. Haley told us “My experience at Robertson’s has showed me that there are equal opportunities for girls looking for a career in construction” . All Braes pupils involved in this partnership project gained their Princes Trust Achieve Work Experience Module, allowing them to complete their Princes Trust Achieve National Qualification, were supported to sit their CSCS operative’s certification and achieved a positive destination into the construction industry either through further education at Forth Valley College or gaining employment with a local business. “Robertson Group has a number of initiatives in place to help safeguard the industry for the next generation, recognising the importance of providing young people with opportunities to develop the skills they need to progress on to employment. The programme with Braes High School was developed to provide pupils with an insight into the construction industry and we were really excited to offer our support to help them explore the industry, identify their interests and talents and learn about the diverse careers available in the built environment sector.” "Industry partnerships with a shared purpose offer young people the opportunity to develop and demonstrate skills in ways that would not be possible within a traditional classroom setting. They inspire pupils to unlock and realise their potential, increase their confidence, help them explore careers and think about pathways that they may never have considered." If you are inspired by what you have read and think your business could partner with a local school to help young people realise their potential then please get in touch to start the conversation. In March (pre-lockdown), 20 partners associated with the construction industry collaborated to produce an event for 70 young women from all Stirling secondary schools, hosted at Bannockburn High School. The event was planned to coincide with International Women’s Day and Scottish Apprenticeship week and raised awareness of the opportunities and career pathways, including apprenticeships, that exist within the industry. This event provided a inspiring female-centric and encouraging environment in which to explore some of the practical skills required by the sector. We are delighted to present this short film of the event which succeeds in giving a flavour of the excitement and inspiring activities the pupils of Stirling were involved in. The first of its kind, this event received very positive feedback from all participants and facilitators. An evaluation on the impact of the event produced by DYW Forth Valley is available to view here and Stirling City Heritage Trust's Event report can be found here. “This event has demonstrated the high level of interest by girls in traditional skills and has given them the chance to meet a variety of women who are experts in their field. It was an inspiring and engaging day with excellent feedback. We were delighted to be involved in the delivery of such an innovative and positive event.” “With 30% of the Construction industry in Scotland aged 50 and over, we know the sector needs new entrants across a wide range of roles. We also know that there is an unconscious bias of the Construction industry amongst young people as being male dominated with historically, approximately only 2% of Modern Apprenticeships within Construction and related sectors in Scotland, being started by women. This event, driven by this dedicated collaboration of industry partners for all of the Secondary schools in Stirling has offered exposure to a range of skills and roles that young people may have never considered. It has provided them with hands-on experiences, contextualised the subjects they study at school and provided them with inspiring insight from strong and talented women currently succeeding within the industry." Women in Construction may be one of the last large-scale events DYW Forth Valley will have had the pleasure of working on for some time however, all 21 Regional Groups, we are working hard to respond to the changing circumstances we are all living through, which will undoubtedly drive a change in the way we deliver across Forth Valley. We have already seen a significant shift to virtual resources and interactive engagement from a number of our partners and would invite you to consider if you can support young people in this way moving forward. Please contact us at getinvolved@dyw.forthvalley.ac.uk We are the young people of Forth Valley and we want to tell everyone how our local employers have inspired us:
Have a look at the film below which shows how our amazing local employers make a difference to us. We hope you enjoy it. Alternatively if you have an opportunity in mind that you would like to offer to education you can register on Marketplace.
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