EVENTS

South Ayrshire Futures By South Ayrshire Council

On Wednesday 8th February we hosted our very first South Ayrshire Futures event in partnership with DYW Ayrshire. More than 50 local businesses, employers and education providers had the opportunity to meet with over 650 young people, parents, carers and teachers to highlight the wide range of employment and training opportunities available within South Ayrshire. Feedback has been very positive following the event and we are now looking to build upon this success to increase partnership working across our schools.

SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS – STEM AEROSPACE CAREER EVENT 7TH MARCH 2023

Skills Development Scotland

(S.D.S.) co-ordinates ‘Scottish Apprenticeship week’ annually to encourage uptake of Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships by employers and individuals. This is an opportunity for businesses to raise awareness of the apprenticeships available within their organisation and how this can unlock potential in young people.

Spirit fully supports this opportunity both as a business and from an industry perspective. Recently Spirit joined forces with other local Aerospace companies and learning partners to host an event focused on Aerospace. The objective of the event was to provide Ayrshire secondary schools the ability to attend a ‘one stop shop’ with information on all the local opportunities within Aerospace. Furthermore, it is hoped that this collaborative approach to young people’s career guidance would provide local businesses with the next generation of Aerospace engineers.

The day commenced with a brief overview of the event objective followed by the chance to visit business stands to allow pupils to learn more about the companies and understand how this might impact their option choices aligned to the school curriculum. Apprentices currently working for the company’s participating also provided detailed information on the apprenticeship hiring process. The students also enjoyed a tour of Spirit’s AeroSpace Innovation Centre.

Brian McGilvary, Operations Business Improvement Manager

PARTNERSHIP EVENT HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE IN NORTH AYRSHIRE MAKE THEIR NEXT MOVE

A careers event for young people, parents and carers was hosted at Ayrshire College, Kilwinning, on Tuesday, 28 March. The partnership event organised by North Ayrshire Council, Developing the Young Workforce, Skills Development Scotland, Ayrshire College and DWP was a great success with over 600 people attending.

The event was a fantastic platform for local employers to promote their latest vacancies, College lecturers to provide information on further education, and various partners to highlight the employment support delivered by their own organisations and Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire – the Council’s Employability Service.

Thanks to the support from over 40 employers, attendees were able to discover the wealth of career options available on our doorstep and get helpful advice on how to take the first or next step in their career.

For more information on Your Next Move visit www.north-ayrshire. gov.uk/employability.

Mhari Burley, Senior Communications Officer

Cash for Kids are opening their Summer Grant Round on Monday 22 May 2023. Community groups in Ayrshire will have the opportunity to apply to two different grants, including The Summer Group Grant. Arnold Clark has also partnered with Cash for Kids to provide the Sir Arnold Clark Summer Fund, which offers one community group based in the West of Scotland the opportunity to apply for £5000 funding. Any group or project providing a service which makes a difference to young people living in disadvantaged areas within our community during summer 2023 is invited to apply online via the Cash for Kids website.

These grants are made possible by fundraising campaigns which raise vital funds for the most vulnerable children and families in Ayrshire. In 2022, the charity granted out over £350,000 to community groups in Ayrshire which helped to support over 14,000 children. Businesses and individuals across Ayrshire can take part in many ways, including dress up days, bucket collecting and donating a percentage of their sales to the charity. At Cash for Kids, every pound raised in Ayrshire is redistributed in