A long awaited addition to the team at DYW Forth Valley, Clare Flynn has arrived and is ready to engage. At DYW Forth Valley we understand that in order to commit to the Scottish Government's Young Person's Guarantee, industry needs to be confident that we will support them to engage in a meaningful way. From understanding what is being asked via 'The 5 Asks' to referring to the right partners, to connecting to our School Coordinators across Forth Valley; which is why we're delighted to welcome Clare as our new Strategic Lead in Forth Valley.  Clare Flynn joined the team at DYW Forth Valley, April 2022. At the heart of businesses across Forth Valley it is people who graft, people who set the direction, people who inspire and we believe in order to support, inspire and engage our team needs strong leadership and Clare is the woman for the job! We caught up with Clare to find out a bit about her, why she was drawn to this role and how she hopes to lead the team: Tell us what motivates you… Very simply bridging the gap between business, education and the wider community to benefit all motivates me. For over 20 years I have worked in education and training, 15 of these within the college sector, in a variety of roles, from Lecturer to college Senior Leadership. My own #NoWrongPath didn't begin via the traditional route of straight from school to university, like some of our young people that path was not the option I wished to take at the time but I am always happy to share my own career journey which is intertwined with qualifications gained throughout my journey in Business, Management & Leadership and Education. So why this role? I believe partnership working and collaboration are key to supporting the success of our young people. I am passionate about how vital the business community is to improving the opportunities for young people and how key their input is to their journeys. Equally I have seen first-hand the real benefits engagement with young people has for businesses across Scotland and beyond; be it SMEs or large organisations, this connection with our young people and having benefited from their skills and knowledge, has truly supported local businesses. And is so rewarding! I have been very fortunate to be part of local, regional and national projects to improve and create opportunities and life chances for the communities we serve and know I can continue to make a difference in this role. Why is it so important that businesses across Forth Valley get involved? It is my hope the DYW team here at Forth Valley support engagement between business, education and the local community. It is our aim to ensure the business community are able to engage with our young people with ease as I know employers across Forth Valley have so much to offer. I truly believe their engagement will have such a positive and long lasting impact to our young peoples’ journeys. The school co-ordinator network are vital to this success and make such a difference to providing the platform for business and young people to meet. It is my aim that here at Forth Valley, we are leading the way in our business to education engagement in support of the Young Person’s Guarantee. “I am delighted to take up post of Programme Manager for Developing the Young Workforce Forth Valley. I am passionate about the aims and values of Developing the Young Workforce, ensuring options and choices for all. I am excited to be working with such a dynamic team within the DYW family, across the school network and the business community within Forth Valley and the teams within Forth Valley College.”  |