Capital

Issue 15 Working Capital November 2015
8
Foundation Apprenticeships
Edinburgh pupils are amongst the first
in the country to enrol on a Foundation
Apprenticeship in Financial Services
which includes some of the capital’s
leading financial services firms including
Aegon, Tesco Bank and Standard Life.
Young people taking part will spend part
of their week in college and working with
employers to build the knowledge, skills
and experience that could help them to
forge an exciting career in finance.
The Foundation Apprenticeship in
Financial Services is a strategic partnership
between Skills Development Scotland and
Edinburgh College – which will deliver the
Four Square Foyer
In May this year, Four Square
successfully secured a Flexible Support
Fund grant from the Department for
Work and Pensions to pilot a ‘Foyer’ for
1 year to provide young homeless people
with employability support.
The foyer approach recognises that
tackling homelessness is not just a matter
of providing a home, but necessitates
addressing the underlying causes and
providing people with the means of gaining
and sustaining employment.
Each year Four Square’s Stopover emergency
hostel and Number Twenty supported
accommodation work with approximately 125
young people aged 16 to 19. This project
will enable Four Square to fully integrate
their accommodation, housing support and
employability services for young people.
The Foyer provides a programme of
daily activities to engage, motivate and
Foundation Apprenticeship – and has been
developed to create better links between
young people, education and employers.
The young people will work towards
their Foundation Apprenticeship alongside
existing school subjects and will gain
industry-recognised qualifications including
elements of a Modern Apprenticeship. This
will enable them to continue their studies
at college or university, go into direct
employment or gain accelerated entry onto a
related Modern Apprenticeship.
For more information
w www.apprenticeships.scot/foundation
progress young people through homeless
accommodation into positive destinations.
Service delivery includes 1-1 support and
group work as well as accredited and nonaccredited
learning programmes.
Young people are also supported
to complete Four Square’s Tenancy
Sustainment and Employability Course as
well as the SQA Employability Award.
Six months into the pilot, 36 people have
engaged with the Foyer with 12 starting the
Tenancy Sustainment course and 13 starting
the SQA Employability Award. In addition to
this, 8 are in employment and a further 7
have engaged with training, volunteering or a
work placement.
For more information
0131 221 2292
leylahw@foursquare.org.uk or
joycejp@foursquare.org.uk
w www.foursquare.org.uk/foyer-project
@FourSquareEdin
The Venture Trust
Supporting the Department for Work and
Pensions’ (DWP) Social Justice priorities, The
Venture Trust’s Build a Bike programme was
funded through the Flexible Support Fund
and designed to help claimants aged 16+
who were facing multiple barriers including:
• Lack of self confidence, motivation and
core skills
• Lack of practical skills applicable in
growing local employment sectors
• Lacking physical fitness and missing the
benefits of well-being associated with
healthy activity
• Lack of role models or peer support to
pursue employability opportunities
Participants were able to learn practical
skills as well as finding out more about
bikes and cycling in a supportive group
environment. Venture Trust Outreach
Workers were on hand to provide one-toone
support to take the next steps into
volunteering, training, work placements and
employment. At the end participants were
given the chance to keep the bike they had
built and also shown how to cycle safely both
in the city and off-road.
For more information
w www.venturetrust.org.uk/programmes/
build-bike
SDS Early
Intervention
Skills Development Scotland is
expanding its careers information
and guidance services in schools
to support the moves from primary
to secondary school. SDS Careers
Advisers will offer direct support to
schools at P7/S1, assisting with
transition planning as young people
move from primary to secondary
school, meaning young people begin
their career management skills
journey as they begin secondary
school.
Supported by £1.5 million from the
Scottish Government, the expansion will
be in addition to the group sessions,
drop in clinics, 1-to-1 sessions and
parents’ nights already on offer. This will
ensure that young people benefit from
direct SDS support at every stage from
first to sixth year.
The work of SDS expert Careers
Advisers will continue to be supported
by the award-winning web service My
World of Work, which offers top tips,
tools, advice articles and resources at
any stage of your education or working
life.
SDS has also been working closely
with Education Scotland on the
development of the Careers Education
Standard, which recognises the journeys
all children and young people make as
they learn about the world of work from
the early years to the senior phase.