Welcome to the June 2016 edition of the Employability in Scotland e-bulletin

..and what a busy month its been! Scotland has delivered a strong and unequivocal vote to remain in the EU. The Scottish Government welcomes that outcome and will explore all options to secure Scotland's interests. All possible steps to ensure Scotland's continuing relationship with Europe are being explored, and the First Minister has announced the formation of a standing Council on Europe, which will be chaired by Professor Anton Muscatelli. During the Independence Referendum of 2015, the people of Scotland were told that remaining in the UK was the only guarantee of continued EU membership. The EU Referendum vote has created a significant and material change of circumstances and the First Minister confirmed on 25 June that the Scottish Government would now begin to prepare the legislation to allow a future Independence Referendum to take place, if and when Parliament so decides.

Clearly we are in unchartered territory at this time and the Scottish Government has a duty to provide reassurance and certainty on these issues, while continuing to govern in Scotland across all of our priorities. The Employability Team remain committed to engaging and communicating with its stakeholders as the situation develops and will continue to provide updates through this e-bulletin as they become available.

As many of you are aware, from 1 April 2017, the Scottish Government will be launching new employability services to help unemployed people in Scotland. These services are being designed in line with last year's consultation response, with particular emphasis on a desire for truly person-centred approaches. In their design, we have looked at current services in the UK and abroad, and continue to speak with funders, providers, employers and individuals. Our new programme is steadily taking shape and we hope to be able to share more information about it in the coming months.

Scotland's Devolved Employability Services Advisory Group met on 1 June 2016, which was the Group's 7th meeting, and included discussion of the new ministerial appointments. The Meeting Note can be found here.   

The National Delivery Group met on 3 June 2016 and included presentations by:

• Debbie McCall, Scottish Government, on the Fair Work Framework which aims to ensure that by 2025, people in Scotland will have a world leading working life where fair work drives success, well-being and prosperity for individuals, businesses and society.
• Mike McElhinney, Head of Employability Unit - Scottish Government, provided an update on the current activities of his team.
• Stephen McConnachie, DWP, spoke about the importance of working collaboratively and about the forthcoming changes to Jobcentre Plus programmes.

The nore of the meeting will be published shortly and can be found on the NDG Meeting Papers webpages. 

Finally, don’t forget to keep in touch. We are always happy to receive your case studies, examples of good practice and your contributions for the Employability in Scotland website and e-bulletin.

Best wishes

Joanne

As one of his first actions as Economy Secretary, Keith Brown announced he would chair a review group looking at roles, responsibilities and relationships of enterprise, development and skills agencies.

The first pupils in Scotland to complete the new Foundation Apprenticeships - in engineering and financial services - have been recognised for their achievements.

The percentage of school leavers going on to positive destinations including work, training and continued study has reached a record high, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has confirmed.

City of Edinburgh Council has embraced the worldwide participatory movement to bring democratic budget control. The Your Choice: Youth Projects programme used participatory budgeting to develop and fund youth employability support.

The Scottish Government will work with employers across the country to pilot a 'Returners' project which will help women update their skills and knowledge.

Dyslexia Scotland is delighted to announce the development of their employment service for adults with dyslexia who are seeking work, are in work, and for employers with an interest in dyslexia in the workplace.

People from disadvantaged backgrounds will receive training and help to become volunteers, Communities Secretary Angela Constance revealed at the start of Volunteers' Week

The IPPR report looks at the jobs recovery in Scotland since 2010, the current jobs market and the implications for the skills system in Scotland of changes to Scotland's economy.

The following short film provides an overview of the experiences of 3 young people with a disability or additional support needs who and have received Specialist Employment Training and Support from Falkirk Council.

Partners and stakeholders learned more about equality and diversity initiatives and shared best practice thanks to an event held by Skills Development Scotland.

The SURF Awards offers an opportunity for regeneration projects of all sizes to demonstrate value to funders and partners, support team-building and develop a national profile.

SDS and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) have announced joint plans to boost the number of apprentices employed by housing associations and co-operatives.

Remember to follow us on @employinscot

You can view all current consultations from the Scottish Government online.