A Pilot Programme Developed As A Partnership Between Amey And New College Lanarkshire Has Created New Jobs And Training Opportunities For A Group Of 16-24 Year Old Unemployed Young People.
A group of eight young people, aged 16-24, joined Amey on work placement in January 2015, as part of a bespoke Certificate of Work Readiness (CoWR) programme. All of the candidates successfully completed the programme at the end of May.
Five of the group have since been offered full employment with Amey, and the opportunity to undertake a relevant Modern Apprenticeship while in the workplace.
The jobs have been created within Amey’s Strategic Highways and Social Housing divisions, and cover a variety of roles including administration, road maintenance, electrical engineering and construction. In addition, two other candidates have been offered work-related vocational courses with New College Lanarkshire, starting in September; with Amey providing the work-based element of their training. The remaining candidate is also being offered a vocational course via New College Lanarkshire.
Gordon Allan, Amey Director (Scotland), said: “I congratulate all these young people for completing their award and for demonstrating the value their talent, enthusiasm and hard work can offer an employer.
“The Certificate of Work Readiness programme provides us with a fantastic opportunity to help young people gain an understanding of the wide range of jobs we offer, and I am delighted that a number of these candidates have now been offered a career with Amey.”
John McNair, Head of Business and Community Development at New College Lanarkshire, said: “Amey has been a passionate and proactive partner whose support and input has been vital in successfully delivering this programme. The young people who have completed this award are now set to move into either employment or training; and now also have a much clearer direction and pathway in terms of the type of career they might wish to pursue.
“It demonstrates that this qualification goes way beyond simply preparing young people for the world of work but can, by matching the right candidates with the needs of the employer, assist talented young people and companies to find each other.”
The Certificate of Work Readiness award has been developed collaboratively with the Scottish business community and seeks to help unemployed young people gain the real-world experience necessary to secure employment. It has been developed to give unemployed young people a set of transferable skills, boost their self-confidence and give them a better understanding of the behaviours and attitudes employers’ value.