Craigowl Communities Recruiting 16-24 year olds for Hospitality Academy Beginning Monday 20th February

Craigowl Communities reports that, "we have already had a great group of learners through our training centre doors this year." 

"They've learned lots of skills from gaining new qualifications to using our Barista machine to make delicious Lattes and Cappuccino's to experiencing what excellent service looks like at a local restaurant."

"Our next Hospitality Academy starts on Monday 20th February and we are welcoming applications for this now.  Please find attached information flyer and application form. The course is open to all 16-24 year olds who have an interest in learning more about what it takes to work in the Hospitality industry."

Any queries please don't hesitate to get in touch with:

Jacqueline Gray, Academy Coach, Craigowl Communities, 
The Learning Place, 235-237 Hilltown, Dundee, DD3 7AN
Tel Office 01382 200744 Mob 07841782421
Email JacquelineGray@craigowl.com Web www.hillcrest.org.uk

Official Statistics Show 187 Unemployed in Broughty Ferry are in Receipt of Job Seeker's Allowance

Yesterday, the July 2013 UK Government statistics for unemployment were released. 

Based on the numbers in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance the figures for The Ferry are as follows:

Broughty Ferry 67    2.2 per cent

Balgillo              43    1.0 per cent

Barnhill             48     1.6 per cent

West Ferry        29     1.0 per cent

A total of 187 people in The Ferry ward were claiming Job Seekers Allowance out of work benefit in the latest month (July) , according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

When the September count is released we should unfortunately expect to see a rise as unemployed graduates and school leavers are eligible to claim Job Seeker's Allowance.

The real number of unemployed people is likely to be higher than this as the more  accurate model-based figures from the ONS put the latest available unemployment rate for Dundee as a whole at just over 10 per cent (for the period April 2012- March 2013) which is in excess of the percentage measured by claimants of Job Seekers' Allowance. .

Unemployment inflicts misery on families and households as it usually leads to a drastic reduction in household income and thereby narrows the social contacts that are necessary to maintain a decent family life.

Each person who is unemployed is 100 per cent unemployed and the older that he or she is, the less likely they are to find further employment, which merely adds to the demoralization that unemployment produces.

The unused skills and abilities of the unemployed also represent a waste of potential economic activity that could benefit both the national and the local economy. 

Dundee 2nd Economic Summit- Focusing on Youth Unemployment and Capitalising on the V and A @ Dundee

Yesterday morning, I attended the 2nd Dundee Economic Summit at the Bonar Hall in Dundee. This focused on two key themes:

Youth Unemployment
At a time when youth unemployment is at its highest in a decade we need to take action now to offer more opportunities for our young people especially those that are long term unemployed.

As a contribution towards youth unemployment, David Dorward, the Council's Chief Executive, launched the Discover Opportunities Employer Pledge. This pledge supports the vision that employers from all sectors will work together to maximise employment and training opportunities for young people and adults in the City.

Capitalising on The VandA @ Dundee
The summit provided an opportunity to hear about Bilbao and Gateshead which have both used a major new cultural attraction to assist their regeneration. 

This was also a good opportunity to network with employers and partner agencies engaged in the Dundee Partnership.

HOPE Project Video from Young People at Helm Training is Inspirational

Yesterday, I went to the DCA for the premiere of an inspirational film made by young people involved in the HOPE project at Helm Employment in Dundee.  

Helm Old People's  Experiences (HOPE) project aimed to break down barriers between old people and teenagers by involving them in a local history project which focused on interviewing OAPs about their jobs, and working with Dundee City Council looking at the future of Dundee through the new waterfront.

Through this the young people visibly clearly grew in confidence as they conducted their video interviews. At the same time, through meeting and interviewing residents in a sheltered housing complex, the young film makers adjusted their views of older people in our city. Likewise, older interviewees seemed to appreciate the challenges for young people today.

Helm staff who devised and secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to do this project are to be commended. The young and older people who took part in the interviews deserve our appreciation for sharing their thirty minute documentary with us.

Cuts in Dundee College and Concerns for the Effects on Opportunities for Young People Leaving School

At the Policy and Resources Committee on Monday evening I spoke to an item that had been placed on the Agenda at my request:

Item 12 Budgetary Cuts in Further Education at Dundee College

This is what I said to the members of the Policy and Resources Committee:

"I have placed this item on the agenda because I am very concerned about the effects of current and future cuts in the budget of our further education college - Dundee College. I think the current year cuts of £4 million and projected reductions over the next three years will amount to a reduction approaching 30% of their budget. Cuts of that magnitude in an organisation that spends most of its cash on teaching staff can only lead to a reduction in the range of courses and programmes on offer and a reduction in the number of places available. 

Dundee College is the destination of choice of many of our school leavers. In fact progression rates of pupils moving into further education from our nine secondary schools is amongst the highest in Scotland and is to be commended.

Dundee College also provides vocational courses for some of our existing secondary school pupils alongside their school based subject choices.

Additionally, Dundee College also provides the rehearsal space for Dundee Schools' Music Theatre which has widespread community and political support.

Dundee College's valued collaboration and partnership with the Education Department is featured in the College's current Strategic Plan where they list as a significant achievement:

• 'Partnership with DCC Education Department at both strategic and operational levels is very well developed. Joint activity includes data sharing in order to better support transition from school to college ....'

Dundee College is also an important place to return to study or undertake an access course prior to going to University or taking an advanced course at the College. 

Furthermore, Dundee College is crucial to city employers and potential new employers. 

Crucially Dundee College it is also itself an important employer; in fact the 9th largest employer in the city.

Given rising levels of unemployment in our City and an expectation that too many of our young people will not be leaving school to move to a positive destination such as paid employment or a place at further education college or at University, we need Dundee College and the range and depth of what it does now. Conversely we don't need the College distracted from its mission by a costly and lengthy merger negotiations with Angus College. We also don't want Dundee College's vital training and educational work undermined or curtailed by swingeing cuts from the Scottish Government.

Now there is a constructive way to defend Dundee College and what it does by responding to the Scottish Government's consultation, 

'Putting Learners at the Centre: Delivering our Ambitions for Post 16 Education' 

which has a deadline for submissions on Friday 23rd December. Now Convener if you tell me that there is not staff time to respond to my suggestion in such a short timescale, then I offer myself to provide a first draft for the Council's consideration."

I am pleased that the members of the Policy & Resources Committee agreed to ask the Director of Education to prepare a response and bring this to the already scheduled additional meeting of the Committee on Monday 19 December.

Preventing Another Lost Generation of Our Young People

On Tuesday the Waste: a Future You Report was published. The responses of more than 750 young people across the UK paint a depressing picture of the impact of unemployment on their mental health.

Shockingly, it revealed that:

- more than a quarter are so depressed they have contemplated suicide and
- others turn to drink or drugs in the face of serial rejection and bleak prospects.

Of those surveyed in Scotland, 28 per cent said they had contemplated suicide, compared with 25 per cent south of the Border.

A third of Scots often felt their "life was being wasted", while two-thirds said being classed a Neet - Not in Education, Employment of Training - made them "feel bad about themselves".

Scottish unemployment fell to 208,000 between January and March, putting the rate at 7.7 per cent - the same as the UK average. However, Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) recently found the unemployment rate for young people to be around 20 per cent, almost three times the overall figure.

Lucy McTernan, chief executive of CAS, said: "The evidence from Scottish advice bureaux shows that young people in Scotland have been hit hard by the recession, and that this is really causing a wave of anger and despair across their generation.!"

In February 2011,  CAS published a survey of Scots aged 18 to 25, Being Young Being Heard: The impact of the recession on young people in Scotland. The results of their survey apparently took CAS by surprise. The scale of the crisis in our youth is much greater than is generally realised. 

"One in every five young people aged 16 to 24 are now unemployed. For 16- to 17-year-olds, this figure jumps to one in every three."

"These two research reports emphasise just how devastating it is for young people to be out of work and not in education or training. It would clearly be wrong if we in Dundee were ignoring this message and not responding by ensuring more successful transitions from school to work, education or training.

I have written to Michael Wood, the Director of Education and the SNP's Education Convener, Councillor Liz Fordyce asking for review of what is being done in our secondary schools by teachers and other professionals to ease the path from school to work or training or university of our young people. I am sure there is room for improvement. I think that parents, carers and especially our senior school pupils should expect that we would be active in finding more pathways to a positive post school destination.