Careers Scotland have welcomed the First Minister's announcement of the NEET strategy More Choices, More Chances.
Reacting to the announcement Christina Allon, director of Careers Scotland, (SE) said: "We welcome today's announcement and are pleased that the Scottish Executive has recognised the importance of reducing economic inactivity among this group of young people. One of our key priorities is the prevention, as well as reduction, of the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training.
"The new strategy will allow Careers Scotland and its partners to together focus more closely on giving young people a realistic goal to work towards, developing their personal employability skills, and providing specialist support to better connect them with a range of opportunities.
"We play a key role in tackling the NEET group. Our career and enterprise education activities give young people experiences and opportunities that build confidence, encourage a can-do attitude and introduce them to positive role models. And our employability services actively target those young people who are at risk of disengaging with learning and employment, with the aim of reducing unemployment rates among all young people.
"There has been a significant improvement for leavers from schools where there has been additional input from Careers Scotland. For example, Smithycroft Secondary School in Glasgow has seen unemployment rates among its school leavers fall from 31 per cent in 2003, to just 6 per cent in 2005. This improvement owes much to us working in partnership with the school and forming much closer links in the local community.
"As a result of this, the Scottish Executive has asked us to deliver Enhanced Resource Pilots in a number of schools, including Braeview Academy, the school that the First Minister visited today. These pilots will build on the success of our partnership working and will offer additional in-depth support from Careers Scotland, allowing
us to measure the difference that this makes.
