Developing the Young Workforce : Marketplace

Developing the Young Workforce : Marketplace

Mark Steell, Development Adviser, DYW Employer Engagement Team, Scottish Government

I am seconded to Scottish Government to support the Developing the Young Workforce strategy and the regional employer groups that have been set up to deliver employer engagement with young people in education to help their awareness and access to the world of work.

This is the second time I have had this privilege having been involved in Determined to Succeed and people have asked me what is different this time round. I think one area for change is how we use digital technology to communicate employer offers and support to education.

Last year, the Edinburgh, East and Mid-Lothian DYW group launched Marketplace which is a digital platform for employers to offer schools insight, inspiration and awareness activities and events. The National DYW group led by Rob Woodward of STV has since agreed to the roll-out of Marketplace as the recommended tool for DYW groups to use.

Skills Development Scotland in collaboration with Scottish Government, Education Scotland, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire, and North East DYW groups have led the development of Marketplace.

The benefits of Marketplace are to make it easy for employers to communicate an offer to education and, for teachers it sits on My World of Work website which will make it easier to search for opportunities. The system allows teachers to book employer offers and will be open for young people to be able to see what’s on offer too

In addition, the Founders4schools service is available in Marketplace and this links teachers with entrepreneurial employers who wish to offer learning opportunities to schools. So the platform allows you to see what’s already available and to build your own event with employer support if you require this.

If you want to find out more about Marketplace, register and sign in at https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/marketplace and speak to your regional DYW group at http://www.employabilityinscotland.com/developing-young-workforce/ about plans to bring this to the area where you work and live.

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