Chamber and committees

I presume this question refers to my announcement on 22 December of £1.5 million to support young people, including care leavers and young carers, access employment. Skills Development Scotland (SDS) will work between now and the end of this financial year to determine the fine details of how this funding will be used. SDS will publish eligibility criteria in due course and I will ensure you are sent a link to this when it is published.

The Scottish Government is convening a special session of the National Economic Forum on 1 February to explore with a wide range of partners and stakeholders what more we need to do to support young people into employment. I will also be meeting with a wide range of employers throughout January and beyond.

This builds on a strategic roundtable discussion on 15 December, at which a number of business organisations made a valuable contribution.

On 15 December, I hosted a strategic roundtable discussion with representatives of local authorities, the third sector, college sector and private sector employers to consider how to maximise the effectiveness of this new resource. The STUC also attended this meeting.

A special session of the National Economic Forum will be convened on 1 February to explore what more we need to do to support young people into employment with a wide range of partners and stakeholders. Again the STUC, and other Trade Unions, will be invited to participate.

It is for employers, not government, to create permanent jobs. This government will continue to work with employers from businesses of all sizes and across all sectors to encourage them to employ more young people, including young graduates.

The Scottish Government has committed to consult with a range of partners on the best use of the £30 million in additional funding to support youth employment. With that in mind, final decisions on the targeting of this resource have not been made.

The Scottish Government is already working closely with both public and private sector partners to provide a comprehensive package of services to help graduates into employment. Over the last two years, we have provided over £270,000 for new initiatives. This has improved web-based services which provide advice and information on job vacancies; it has supported the development of the Talent Scotland Graduate Placement Programme that aims to provide business placements for around 750 graduates in Scotland; and it has supported graduate placements under the successful “Adopt an Intern” Scheme run by the Centre for Scottish Public Policy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-04748 on 18 January 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

It is for employers, not Government, to create permanent job opportunities. This Government will continue to work with employers from businesses of all sizes and across all sectors to encourage them to employ young people across all sections of our communities in line with current equal opportunities legislation.

To support young women entering the labour market, career information advice and guidance, provided by Skills Development Scotland, encourages them to challenge stereotypes and pre-conceived ideas about their career choice and to overcome barriers to progression in an appropriate and supportive fashion.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-04751 on 18 January 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

It is for employers, not Government, to create permanent job opportunities. This Government will continue to work with employers from businesses of all sizes and across all sectors to encourage them to employ young people.

Through our investment in post-16 education we support young people to develop the skills they need to access and sustain jobs now and in the future.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting with local government, colleges, the third sector and employers on the most effective allocation of the additional £30 million Opportunities for All funding.

As a first step, I announced on 22 December £1.5 million across the next three years to support up to 1,000 of the most disadvantaged 16 to 24 year-olds through employer recruitment incentives and additional flexible support for individual young people.