Young Person's Guarantee - implementation: progress report

Activity Plan Next Steps

The table below sets out commitments referenced in the published Activity Plan^[18] for the Young Person's Guarantee, and outlines planned next steps for each workstream.

1. Engagement and Creating Opportunities

1.1 Communications and Engagement

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Engage with young people, employers and partners to establish a streamlined way of communicating messaging on the Guarantee.
• Develop an umbrella brand for the Guarantee with an effective web presence that is accessible and meets all our equality obligations.
• Communicate the successes of the Guarantee through telling the stories of businesses and young people.

Next Steps:

• Further develop the Young Person's Guarantee website, including more focus on employers and support for young people. Updated information will be available from summer 2021.
• Continue to align communications and engagement activity with DWP, particularly around the Kickstart programme.

1.2 Young Person's Journey

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Ensuring that young people are at the heart of the Guarantee.
• Develop the Young Person's Journey by engaging with young people and third sector organisations, and take into account the barriers (such as poverty and digital exclusion) faced by young people (particularly intersectional young people, young people from minority ethnic and minority racial groups, young disabled people, young women, and minority groups).
• Consultations to develop this work are undertaken in safe environments, and led by groups who effectively engage with young people.

Next Steps:

• Young Scot to continue to lead on young people's engagement, including support for the Leadership Panel, and working with partners to refine young people's journeys.
• The development of a co-production approach to ensure the Young Person's Guarantee is shaped and delivered by young people.
• Ensuring that the policies are reviewed and tested with young people.

1.3 Employer Journey

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Develop Employer Journey through employer engagement and leadership. This will further involve engagement with DWP, the third sector and equality groups.

Next Steps:

• Continue to encourage employers to sign up to the Young Person's Guarantee, with the development of targets for employer engagement.
• Develop and map the employer journey with key delivery partners, which will be available from autumn 2021.
• Move into brand building with employers.

1.4 Career Advice Model

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Further develop career advice service in line with the recommendations made in the interim report.
• Ensure the continued delivery of the current all-age careers information, advice and guidance service in Scotland, and that the service meets the needs of all users especially those facing barriers to employment.
• Develop options to integrate the industry led DYW network with the wider career offer.

Next Steps:

• Recommendations from the Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) Review due by the end of 2021.
• Work will continue to ensure that services align with DYW, in school mentoring and other support available to simplify the mechanisms available to young people.
• We will continue to engage with young people on the CIAG Review.

1.5 Creating Opportunities and Demand

Activity Plan Commitments:

• All levels of Government to consider the cost to society of not affording young people with opportunities, particularly those who need most support (including those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, intersectional young people, young people from minority ethnic and minority racial groups, young disabled people, young women, and minority groups).
• All levels of Government will work with delivery partners (including employer groups, education partners and the third sector) to create a wide range of valuable opportunities for young people to mitigate this cost.

Next Steps:

• Quarterly meetings will be held with specialist partners to discuss DYW performance.
• Ongoing delivery of a DYW Summer Leavers programme 2021 to support different cohorts of young people transitioning at this point in time. We are working with partners and agencies to deliver a suite of support mechanisms for young people and those who support them.
• The Scottish Government have revised their response to DYW Futures presented by the DYW Employers' Forum and will work with partners and the network to detail an implementation plan. The final version will then be presented at the next Employers' Forum. KPI guidance has been shared with DYW partners for comment and contribution, with a view to finalising by end July. We have asked partners to consider how they will support the delivery of the KPIs.
• Scoping of sectorial focused opportunities for young people.

2. Education Alignment with Skills, and Apprenticeships

2.1 Education Alignment

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Work with partners to align education with future skills needs and strategic economic policy priorities.

Next Steps:

• Finalise roll out of DYW School Coordinators that will support employer/education partnerships in collaboration with partners.
• Supporting greater alignment between careers information, advice and guidance with DYW school coordinators.

2.2 Apprenticeships

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Develop proposals to support more young people (particularly young people from minority ethnic and minority racial backgrounds, young disabled people, young women, and minority groups), into apprenticeships, particularly in the public sector.

Next Steps:

• Review of uptake of Apprenticeship Employer Grant and other support measures.
• Ongoing consideration of what will replace SDS's Apprenticeship Equality Action Plan in order to advance equality of opportunity within apprenticeships.

2.3 Provision in Colleges

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Develop proposals to create more opportunities in colleges for shorter, work-based programmes which align with the future needs of the economy.

Next Steps:

• A further £10 million is being provided in 2021/22 to deliver around 5000 shorter, industry focused courses.
• A review of the additional £10 million provided to colleges in 2020/21 will support the development and implementation of courses being delivered in 2021/22.
• In 2020-21 the Scottish Government allocated the college sector and its learners over £30 million in additional funding with the Scottish Funding Council allocating an extra £10 million of repurposed funding. In 2021-22 there is an overall increase in the college sector budget of £33.7 million which will support sustainability of the college sector and help mitigate against the effects of the pandemic.

2.4 College Leavers

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Develop proposals to create opportunities for young people leaving college.
• This will involve working with employers and others to develop more internships which align to the future needs of the economy.

Next Steps:

• Scottish Government, SDS, Local Government and DWP have been working together with Colleges Scotland and the college sector to agree effective options for college leavers, which partners will promote through a social media campaign.
• College leavers will have access to a range of opportunities provided by partners including careers advice and guidance, Kickstart, local partnership activity including employer engagement and employer recruitment incentive packages.

2.5 Provision in Universities

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Develop proposals to create more provision in universities for young people, aligned to future needs of the economy and targeted at young people who are underrepresented in higher education.

Next Steps:

• The Scottish Budget continues this in 2021-22 with over £1.1 billion in funding earmarked for universities.
• As a result, from the start of the pandemic, our higher education institutions will receive over £150 million in additional financial support directly related to Covid-19 from the Scottish Government. This additional financial support includes funding for world leading research, additional places for eligible students and student support.
• Both Government and the SFC will continue to work with colleges and universities to build a full understanding of the needs for 2021-22 and beyond.

2.6 Graduate Opportunities and Apprenticeships

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Develop proposals to create more opportunities for university graduates. This will involve working with employers and others to develop more graduate internships which align to the future needs of the economy.

Next Steps:

• SDS will publish updated statistics on the implementation of the Graduate Apprenticeship programme
• Funding has been confirmed in this current year for the continuation of the Graduate Apprenticeship programme
• Universities will continue to engage recent graduates and those completing education this academic year, to ensure appropriate support and pathways are available.
• The SFC will manage the additional £3.5 milion funding provided by Scottish Government and have issued a funding allocation formula, based on student demographics and SIMD residency data.

3. Governance and Equalities

3.1 Governance

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Ensure that delivery of the Guarantee makes use of existing infrastructure and supports effective analysis related to the Guarantee.
• Young people should be a part of these governance arrangements at a local and national level (including young intersectional people, young Black people, young people of colour, young disabled people, young women, minority groups, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds).

Next Steps:

• Engaging with DYW partners to align governance structures.
• Ministers have agreed to a governance structure that brings together national and local government, delivery partners and users of services with a first meeting to be held in summer 2021.
• The Young Person's Leadership Panel will be involved in the governance arrangements so that the views of young people are feeding into development of the Young Person's Guarantee.

3.2 Analysis

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Develop a measurement and evaluation framework to support delivery and measure progress of the Guarantee with support from SDS, local government, Colleges Scotland and SFC.

Next Steps:

• Continue to develop and finalise the Measurement and Evaluation Framework, with view to further publication in summer 2021
• Continued work with SDS, DWP and HMRC to secure access to relevant data to support analysis.
• Continue to work with a range of stakeholders across the public and third sectors to develop, trial and implement a continuous improvement strategy.

3.3 Equalities and Human Rights

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Support development and scrutiny of impact assessments, and ensure other activity embeds an equalities and human rights approach.
• Support delivery partners and stakeholders to access equalities training (such as anti-racist employability training, disability training, gender competence training).

Next Steps:

• The Equality Subgroup will continue to advise and support mainstreaming equality, through regular engagement with Government and delivery partners.
• Ongoing development and completion of the Fairer Scotland Duty.
• Implementation of the actions contained with the Child Rights Impact Assessment. This includes, as part of our monitoring and evaluation process, capturing the impacts on care experienced young people to ensure that implementation of the Young Person's Guarantee can support advancing equality of opportunity.

4. Formal Volunteering and Supporting Those Who Need It Most

4.1 Formal Volunteering

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Increase formal volunteering opportunities for young people, in alignment with the Scottish Government's response to the Youth Volunteering Innovation Project report.

Next Steps:

• Publish a Volunteering Framework in autumn 2021.
• We will work with partners to map out the current formal volunteering offer at national and local level, in order to understand if there are any gaps.

4.2 Supporting Those Who Need it Most

Activity Plan Commitments:

• In partnership, support young people furthest away from the labour market into opportunities. This will include opportunities in the training and employability sector. It should be recognised that those who require support exist across different qualification levels.
• Engage with local partners, including the third sector and local government - in keeping with the principles of No One Left Behind - to support pathways into apprenticeships and employment.

Next Steps:

• Engage with partners on the implementation of support to young people by the local partnerships which has been funded through the Grant letters to local authorities..
• Monitoring the delivery of support to young people which has been funded via the Grant offers to the Young Person's Consortium and Inspiring Scotland.
• Development of an action plan to support the workstream.
• Continuing to work to ensure that that the employability component of the Young Person's Guarantee is fully aligned to the implementation of the No One Left Behind Delivery Plan.^[19] This plan outlines the breadth of wider work underway to deliver a Scottish approach to employability, including for young people.

5. Enabling Activity

5.1 Infrastructure, City Deal and Procurement

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Promote the Guarantee in infrastructure, city deal and public procurement activity.

Next Steps:

• Continued engagement with City Deal contacts to influence activity in order to support aims of the Young Person's Guarantee.

5.2 Environmental Opportunities

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Develop proposals to provide young people with environmental related opportunities, including supporting the Green Jobs Fund.

Next Steps:

• Continued engagement with stakeholders to influence activity to support the aims of the Young Person's Guarantee. This includes the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan Implementation Steering Group, South of Scotland Enterprise Agency, and Zero Waste Scotland.
• We have committed to enable school leavers to experience nature based employment or education opportunities that contribute to our world-leading targets to combat climate change.
• A Green Jobs Workforce Academy will be established. The Academy will support existing employees, and those who are facing redundancy, to assess their existing skills and undertake the necessary upskilling and reskilling they need to secure green job opportunities as they emerge.
• We will work with Warmworks in relation to their Warmstart programme to develop a pilot with the aim of supporting young people into the energy efficiency and renewable technology industry.

5.3 Investment Management

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Work to ensure that investment management activity can support the aims of the Guarantee.

Next Steps:

• Continue engagement to consider how investment activity (particularly in the public sector) can continue to support the Young Person's Guarantee.

5.4 Health and Social Care Opportunities

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Support young people's employment opportunities into the health and social care sector.
• The Fair Work in Social Care Implementation Group will consider careers pathways (including the Young Person's Guarantee) for social care workers. Further detail on this will be developed in their report by end of 2020.

Next Steps:

• Continued engagement with the health and social care sector to support young people access and sustain opportunities in this sector.

5.5 Public Sector Opportunities

Activity Plan Commitments:

• Support young people's employment opportunities into the public sector.

Next Steps:

• The Scottish Government is an early adopter and will work with other public sector organisations to encourage their involvement in the Young Person's Guarantee.