West Lothian Economic Partnership is pleased to announce details of the programme and speakers for its annual Economic Conference 2010.
Tuesday 14 September, 1700 hrs for 1730
Howden Park Centre in Livingston
To see the full programme follow this link http://www.westlothian.com/media/docs/pdf/conference2009
One of West Lothian’s biggest assets for employers is its young and growing
population. This year’s conference aims to inspire local organisations to get involved in national and local employment initiatives to support our future workforce by highlighting instances of best practice.
Drawing on their own organisation’s experiences, our speakers will show how public and private sector collaboration can achieve real results.
REGISTER NOW
Join us on 14 September for this important discussion on West Lothian’s future workforce.
Register for this FREE event now by emailing
westlothianeconomicpartnership@westlothian.gov.uk
or by calling 01506 777938.
There is no charge for attending the conference, which is followed by a light finger buffet and opportunity for business networking.
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
College gives jobless a chance
Twenty unemployed young people from West Lothian are to be given six months work experience and training by Oatridge College, under a project which has attracted funding from the government’s Future Jobs Fund (FJF) and the LEADER rural development initiative.
Interviews to select the first group of ten 18 to 24 year olds are already underway and those chosen will work for four days per week in the on-campus Scottish National Equestrian Centre, the College stables or golf course, on the Oatridge estate, in the animal care department or in administration. They will also have one day per week for formal training, with the aim of making them more prepared for the jobs market.
The FJF will provide £130,000 and LEADER £37,000 towards the total cost of the £174,000, year-long project.
The search is also on for Workforce Development Supervisor who will work with the two groups to provide support and guidance to the individual members.
There are currently 1,645 unemployed 16 -24 year olds in West Lothian and the area generally has a higher jobless rate than the rest of Scotland (4.8% against 4.2%). It is estimated however by Lantra, the sector skills council for the landbased and environmental industries, that Scotland will need 86,000 recruits in the next ten years and even now, there are serious problems filling vacancies.
Adrian Kitchen, director of business and curriculum development at Oatridge, says: “We firmly believe that the young people selected to take up this opportunity for genuine work experience and training will, at the end of the six months, stand a far better chance of finding a permanent job in one of the landbased industries.
“Our objective is to interview each of the individuals identified for us by Job Centre Plus and find people who are a good fit for the range of jobs we have available. It will not only benefit them greatly, but will be of real benefit the local economy as well.”
Interviews to select the first group of ten 18 to 24 year olds are already underway and those chosen will work for four days per week in the on-campus Scottish National Equestrian Centre, the College stables or golf course, on the Oatridge estate, in the animal care department or in administration. They will also have one day per week for formal training, with the aim of making them more prepared for the jobs market.
The FJF will provide £130,000 and LEADER £37,000 towards the total cost of the £174,000, year-long project.
The search is also on for Workforce Development Supervisor who will work with the two groups to provide support and guidance to the individual members.
There are currently 1,645 unemployed 16 -24 year olds in West Lothian and the area generally has a higher jobless rate than the rest of Scotland (4.8% against 4.2%). It is estimated however by Lantra, the sector skills council for the landbased and environmental industries, that Scotland will need 86,000 recruits in the next ten years and even now, there are serious problems filling vacancies.
Adrian Kitchen, director of business and curriculum development at Oatridge, says: “We firmly believe that the young people selected to take up this opportunity for genuine work experience and training will, at the end of the six months, stand a far better chance of finding a permanent job in one of the landbased industries.
“Our objective is to interview each of the individuals identified for us by Job Centre Plus and find people who are a good fit for the range of jobs we have available. It will not only benefit them greatly, but will be of real benefit the local economy as well.”
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Latest unemployment and Jobcentre vacancy figures released
The latest unemployment and Jobcentre vacancy figures are out today for West Lothian (Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) based figures). There has been a fair amount of press coverage regarding the figures on long-term youth unemployment. The STUC have presented a report on the increase in 18-24 year olds who have been unemployed for 6 months or more - with West Lothian having the highest rate of increase in Scotland of 120%.
Youth unemployment is a significant challenge in West Lothian the rate of increase figures don't tell the full story. Long term youth unemployment in West Lothian began to increase from January 2009 onwards but appears to have peaked at around 500 by April/May 2010. West Lothian's rate of increase has been greater than Scotland particularly over the last twelve months.
The level of youth unemployment is higher in West Lothian than the Scottish average. Currently have the 7th highest rate of youth unemployment across all Scottish Local Authorities. West Lothian has the third highest rate of long term youth unemployment (behind North Ayrshire and North Lanarkshire).
Other key unemployment details are:
- The number of JSA jobless in West Lothian for July is 4,837. This is a decrease of 7 on the previous month.
- West Lothian's unemployment rate of 4.3% is higher than both the Scottish (4.0%) and Great Britain (3.6%) rates. West Lothian's unemployment rate ranks joint 10th highest with Renfrewshire.
- Youth unemployment (18-24 year olds) in West Lothian for July is 1,575. This is an increase of 60 on the last month.
- There were 743 notified Jobcentre vacancies in July - a net increase of 44 from June 2010.
The ratio of jobseekers to jobcentre vacancies stands at 7 jobseekers for every vacancy advertised in West Lothian jobcentres. In comparison, Scotland's ratio is 5.8:1, Great Britain is 4.3:1 with West Dunbartonshire having the highest ratio of 16:1 (16 jobseekers for every vacancy) of claimants to vacancies of Scottish local authorities.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
New record pass rate for Highers
A new record pass rate for Highers, at 74.6%, has been achieved by Scottish students this year whilst the strong record of achievement in Standard Grades has been maintained.
More than 160,000 young people who sat Standard Grades, Highers and other qualifications this school year will receive their exam results by post on August 5. Around 35,000 students also signed up for the MySQA service and received their results via text message or e-mail on August 4.
The Scottish Government has already provided record levels of funding for universities, made additional college places available for the forthcoming year and announced thousands of training and work opportunities as part of a £6.5 million package of support called Step Forward Scotland, for the increased number of young people expected to leave school or college this summer.
Read more here.
More than 160,000 young people who sat Standard Grades, Highers and other qualifications this school year will receive their exam results by post on August 5. Around 35,000 students also signed up for the MySQA service and received their results via text message or e-mail on August 4.
The Scottish Government has already provided record levels of funding for universities, made additional college places available for the forthcoming year and announced thousands of training and work opportunities as part of a £6.5 million package of support called Step Forward Scotland, for the increased number of young people expected to leave school or college this summer.
Read more here.
New Funding for Youth Groups
Youth projects throughout Scotland have been invited to apply for funding from a £2.5 million pot of cash created from the proceeds of crime. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill recently announced that a fourth round of funding for youth projects from the CashBack for Communities scheme is now open.
The cash is the first portion of £6.5 million recovered earlier this year from a Russian money launderer with dealings in Scotland, which is now being invested directly back into local communities to provide free diversionary activities for young people. Announcements on use of the remaining funds will be made in coming months.
The scheme, to be administered by YouthLink Scotland, the national youth work agency, has been allocated £2.5 million to distribute over the next two years to local youth projects in the form of grants up to a maximum of £30,000.
Learn more about the scheme
The cash is the first portion of £6.5 million recovered earlier this year from a Russian money launderer with dealings in Scotland, which is now being invested directly back into local communities to provide free diversionary activities for young people. Announcements on use of the remaining funds will be made in coming months.
The scheme, to be administered by YouthLink Scotland, the national youth work agency, has been allocated £2.5 million to distribute over the next two years to local youth projects in the form of grants up to a maximum of £30,000.
Learn more about the scheme
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