Positive picture as the number of North Ayrshire's young people engaging in learning, training or work continues to increase
Posted on 8 Nov 2023
THE number of young people in North Ayrshire finding work or moving into full-time post-school education continues to be strong, according to latest statistics.
In a report presented at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, elected members learned the Annual Participation Measure (APM) - a measurement of the proportion of 16–19-year-olds participating in education, training or employment – is at a seven-year high.
In 2022-23, the APM for North Ayrshire was 93.9% - up by 3% and the highest since it was launched in 2016 as a way of analysing the progress made by young people after leaving school.
Of all the Scottish local authorities, only Moray showed a bigger increase in the same 12-month period.
The report highlights the strong partnerships with Ayrshire
College and the range of opportunities this is providing, while it also talks about the extensive work each secondary school - who all now have a Developing Young Workforce (DYW) Principal Teacher – are carrying out.
It also praises the work of the Local Employability Partnership and the Employability Service for the way they are supporting, engaging and preparing young people for the world of work.
Councillor Shaun Macaulay, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “We are delighted with these latest figures – it really underlines the hard work being carried out across our schools, our Employability service and a range of other services and external partners.
“We are determined to give our young people the best start in life and give them every opportunity to maximise their potential. There is a collective will by all of us to try and give them opportunities that maybe weren’t around a few years ago.
“There are lots of positive things happening and the £251 million Ayrshire Growth Deal has the potential to be transformative for the region. It’s vital that we have a skilled workforce who can support and complement this investment. We will continue to strive to do the best for our young people – which in turn will help our economy grow.”
The Participation Measure data set is the shared status data for young people aged 16-19 held on the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) customer support system. Partners who input to the shared data
set are SDS, local authorities, schools, colleges, Student Awards Agency Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and Department for Work and Pensions