A central employability and training hub which will provide a single point of contact has been created by a number of partner organisations working together.
The Moray Pathways @ The Inkwell project has secured funding from the Department of Working Pensions to invest in the recruitment of Moray Pathways Project Officers, a Digital Literacies Project Officer and new DWP Youth Work Coaches.
The staff will co-ordinate a wide range of employability and training support which will be housed at The Inkwell in Elgin.
The project also involves developing a new menu of online provision and utilising the digital platforms already established.
The Elgin Youth Development Group, Moray Council Employment Team and DWP have joined together to make this happen and they anticipate a huge demand for the services.
Amy Cruickshank, from the Moray Council Employability team explained:
“We are delighted with how the project is progressing and look forward to opening the doors when Covid restrictions allow.
“The role of the Moray Pathways Hub is to encourage a range of additional partner resources via Moray Pathways.
“The partner providers will have access to the larger Inkwell space three days a week and the smaller Inkwell room will provide a multi-agency hot desk facility.
“Partners can use the rooms to deliver training provision, digital workshops and support workers can hold 1:1 meetings and be served refreshments in the comfort of the café area during the day.”
Jane Munro, DWP added:
“The hub will be open to people of all ages who require additional support.
“However, the funding for the additional staff resource is targeted at young people aged 16-24 who have been particularly affected by Covid19.
“Young people locally have been largely unprepared for this situation; therefore, it is vitally important that we create opportunities for them to move forward.”
She added:
“This could include employer information sessions, mentoring circles and upskilling on digital techniques.”
As a response to the impact of Covid-19 on young people, the Scottish Government recently launched the Young Persons Guarantee.
This project will support our local ambition to guarantee the opportunity of a job, placement, training or volunteering for every 16-24-year-old in Moray.
Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:
“Since November our £60 million Young Person’s Guarantee has created around 18,000 opportunities for people aged between 16 and 24 to help them into work, education or training.
“Our local partnership programmes play a crucial role delivering many of these – that’s why we have dedicated £30 million to support Local Authorities to take this work forward.
“We know our young people are some of the hardest hit by the pandemic.
“To ensure they can all get access to the opportunities and support they need we have recently announced – in addition to our ongoing investment in education, learning, skills, apprenticeships and employability programmes – a further £70 million for our Young Person’s Guarantee.”
