An independent publication from www.canongate.org
2018…
Distributed with The Times Scotland 23 August 2018
Scotland’s Year of Young People
Inside 2. National Theatre of Scotland & WJM LLP 3. Wheatley Group & Workingrite 4. SQA 6. Unite 7. Girls’ Brigade Scotland In association with
‘The future is ours’
How National Theatre of Scotland is creating the stars of tomorrow
Scotland’s Year Of Young People is an independent publication by Canongate Communications distributed in The Times Scotland. All rights reserved. Neither this publication or part of it may be stored, reproduced or transmitted, electronically, photocopied or recorded without prior permission of the Publisher. Scotland’s Year Of Young People is published and exclusively distributed in The Times Scotland. We verify information to the best of our ability but do not accept responsibility for any loss for reliance on any content published. If you wish to contact us, please include your full name and address with a contact telephone number. Tontine, 20 Trongate, Glasgow G1 5NA / 0141 465 7640 / www.futurescot.com
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YEAR OF YOUNG PEOPLE 2018
NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND
23 August 2018
Presenting Futureproof … A Scotland-wide festival of theatre and performance created by young people
The National Theatre of Scotland is marking Scotland’s Year of Young People in 2018 by staging a new festival of international performing arts, created by young people working alongside renowned Scottish, British, and international theatre practitioners. Ten leading UK and international companies and artists, specialising in daring new work are embedding themselves in ten communities around the country, working with local young people and groups to co-create, design, develop and stage a piece of performance. These exciting companies and artists include Empathy Museum (UK), Project C (UK & Thulani Rachia (UK/ South Africa), Glas(s) Performance (UK), Rimini Protokoll (Germany), Back to Back Theatre (Australia), Greg Sinclair (UK), Touretteshero (UK), AKHE (Russia), Mammalian Diving Reflex (Canada) and CAMPO (Belgium). The festival programme has been designed for cross-generational audiences. “Futureproof will unleash young Scottish creative energy across the nation,” said Jackie Wylie, artistic director and chief executive of the National Theatre of Scotland. “This international festival places radical participatory theatre practice
Germany’s Rimini Protokoll will adapt their acclaimed Cargo for an unusual tour around in Paisley.
at the forefront of theatre-making in Scotland whilst celebrating young people’s place in our society and at the heart of cultural life.” Ten productions and over 75 performances will take place in ten cities and locations across Scotland as part of the Futureproof festival in September and October. More than one hundred young people will perform their own new
pieces of theatre, in diverse locations across Scotland. They include Scottish theatre company Glas(s) Performance working in residence at Her Majesty’s Young Offenders’ Institute Polmont. “We want to open up the possibility of what the future of theatre could look like whilst offering audiences a nationwide festival of unbridled exuberance and talent,” added Wylie. “We are
delighted to be part of Year of Young People 2018 and this commitment to Scotland’s youth is carried through our 2018 programme of work.” The National Theatre of Scotland has also recruited a group of seven young people as its inaugural Youth Project Team, to encourage the next generation of “theatre innovators and instigators”. Futureproof - supported by the
ScottishPower Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, and EventScotland – takes place in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Highlands, Moray, Paisley, Shetland, and South Ayrshire between 28 September to 28 October. www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/ production/futureproof
Investing in young talent The 164-year-old law firm with its eye on the future BY KEVIN O’SULLIVAN Fraser Gillies, as much as it pains him to admit it, can no longer be considered a ‘young person’. However, with a career lifetime spent with leading legal firm Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP, he most certainly is an advocate for the way the 164-year-old Scottish law firm spurs on the next generation of talented young lawyers, having been one himself. As a product of a graduate intake scheme in 2000, Gillies, who holds a law degree from Strathclyde University, has steadily climbed his way to Managing Partner of the firm and believes the root of its continued success in the Scottish legal landscape lies in its ability to attract, train and retain its staff. “We’ve got a lot of homegrown talent here and we place huge value on nuturing young people who come in as trainees, by giving them early client-facing experience which they may not be able to access in one of the big law firms,” says Gillies, who remembers applying via the company’s website – something that was “not common at the time” for the two-year graduate scheme. “I’m far from the only one,” he adds. “It’s good for me to be able to say that a number of partners have joined the firm as trainees and worked their way
through the ranks, some of whom are now very senior partners.” And the statistics speak for themselves: a good number of the 27 current partners have progressed via the graduate trainee route across offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Dunblane. WJM has recruited trainee solicitors, formerly known as Law Apprentices, for at least 40 years. Its traineeship programme is the final part of the route to qualifying as a solicitor in Scotland and is open to people who have completed or are planning to complete their Diploma in Legal Practice. This is usually preceded by the completion of an LLB degree, and the traineeship takes two years to complete during which time entrants earn a “seat” in each of its service groups. Gillies has helped grow the firm’s planning practice into a leading advisory service to clients involved in retail, housing, infrastructure and energy developments throughout the UK The firm currently has ten graduate trainees on its books, and is looking to bring on another six next year, and promises ‘unlimited’ opportunities to progress, grow and develop. In terms of the work, trainees are exposed early to interesting, varied and emerging areas of law. There is growth in its portfolio of clients in the renewable energy sector, particularly onshore wind farm development, telecommunications and fund management. Demand for places on the graduate
Fraser Gillies, Managing Partner of Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP, is a product of the firm’s graduate trainee programme
programme at WJM outstrips supply, but Gillies is conscious of the fact that the company must remain at the cutting edge of legal practice, especially if it is to appeal to the younger generation. To that end, he views the emergence of automated technologies, where computers make legal decisions instead of humans – so-called ‘artificial intelligence’ – as an “opportunity” rather than a threat. Gillies says: “The traditional job of the lawyer is changing, there’s no doubt about that, and much of it in future is going to be carried out by artificial intelligence. But I do think
it can be an opportunity; there’s no doubt it will be able to do much of the heavy lifting, freeing up lawyers’ time to develop personal relationships with clients, provide advice and for creativity. So the nature of what trainees do in five or 10 years’ time will be totally different, and we are already undertaking some serious thought about the skills that we teach. I think that’s an exciting prospect for us as a company and our trainees of the future.” Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP is a full-service, independent Scottish law firm, with a history stretching back
over 160 years, operating from offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Dunblane. Further information on WJM can be found at wjm.co.uk Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA reference number 231170
EMPLOYMENT
23 August 2018
Apprentices have lots to smile about Landmark £185m loan will help Wheatley invest in new and existing homes More than 100 young apprentices from Wheatley Group joined First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to help announce a landmark EU deal for affordable housing. The apprentices took centre stage at an event in Glasgow’s Gallowgate as Wheatley and the European Investment Bank (EIB) unveiled £185m of funding to build and improve homes. The EIB loan, by far the largest of its type made in Scotland, is linked to a commitment by Wheatley to invest £400m over the next three years in affordable housing. As well as building new homes, it also includes refurbishing existing homes to help tenants cut energy bills. The young people who took part in the announcement are all taking their first steps in a range of careers across different parts of Wheatley.
They lined the streets to welcome the First Minister, the Vice President of the European Investment Bank Jonathan Taylor, tenants, colleagues, business leaders and local politicians. Four apprentices then took to the stage to talk about their experience at Wheatley and their hopes for their futures. Later the First Minister said the young people were not just a credit to Wheatley but a credit to Scotland. Wheatley Chief Executive Martin Armstrong added: “The young people played a major part in what is an important milestone for Wheatley. At their age, I couldn’t have spoken in front of the First Minister as well as they did. It’s great to see young people from our communities grow in confidence and thrive through schemes like our Modern Apprenticeships.” Wheatley, Scotland’s largest housing, care and property-management organisation and the UK’s biggest developer of homes for social rent, provides hundreds of opportunities
YEAR OF YOUNG PEOPLE 2018
Wheatley Group young apprentices help First Minister announce landmark affordable housing deal
for young people each year including apprenticeships, support to get work ready and help to go to university. Wheatley second-year Modern Apprenticeship Chloe Graham said: “It was really exciting to meet the First Minister and although I was nervous speaking in front of her I really enjoyed it. I’ve had so many opportunities to learn during my apprenticeship at Wheatley. It’s really preparing me for my future career.” Among the 111 apprentices who took part in the event, 40 were from City Building (Glasgow) which is jointly owned by Wheatley and Glasgow City Council and provides repairs and maintenance services. They are
“I’ve had so many opportunities to learn during my apprenticeship at Wheatley”
BY KEVIN O’SULLIVAN A too-often-forgotten statistic in Scotland is that around one in five 16 and 17-year-olds leave school every year without the skills or qualifications to successfully enter the workplace. Most often concentrated in areas of high deprivation, the 20 per cent figure is a stark reminder of the fact that your life chances can be dramatically improved simply by not being born in Edinburgh’s Wester Hailes or Glasgow’s Drumpchapel. For those who grow up in poor neighbourhoods – a ‘pot luck’ statistic if ever there was one – life is much harder: good schools, healthy peer groups, job opportunities, all are much more difficult to come by. Although the latest exam results show the number of young people from poorer background entering university is improving, the intractable problems of social exclusion, youth recidivism and marginalisation have doggedly persisted through successive generations. There are, however, social movements which paint a brighter picture,
and are helping to steer politicians in a different direction, one which does not rely solely on the obsession with academic league tables. Workingrite, a Scottish charity with its head office in Leith, has helped over 2,000 young people into employment and apprenticeships since its founding in 2008. It takes young people aged 16 to 24 from poverty-blighted communities which rank highly on the SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) with few or no qualifications and places them into small and mediumsized businesses under the mentorship of a responsible adult with an interest in helping shape their lives. Sandy Campbell, its founder, believes it’s time for better initiatives focused on Scotland’s ‘overlooked teenagers’. “What we have is an intergenerational problem, with a collapse of routes into employment, especially for young people in areas of high levels of deprivation. The government is focused on educational attainment, and I understand what they are trying to do. They are trying to predict the industries that are coming in a fast-changing world and fill those skills gaps; if you’re managing a country that’s what you should do,” he says. “However, there are geographical pockets where those policies are just not
Sandy Campbell, founder of WorkingRite, left, with Fraser MacDuff, a successful WorkingRite trainee, and James Macklin his employer-mentor from Byrne Home Improvements in Glasgow working. We should be changing the system for them, because the focus on academia does not work for everyone.” The initial spark that ignited WorkingRite at its inception was the disproportionately high academic failure rate amongst teenage boys, but the problem is bigger than that. The word ‘rite’ in WorkingRite is based on what Campbell identifies as the need for young people, unprepared for work, to experience a ‘working rite of passage’ into adulthood alongside figures of authority and inspiration in the workplace that they can look up to. “Some people call it ‘soft skills’ – turning up on time, showing an interest, using your initiative, reliability and maturity. But I prefer to think that if an interest is ignited in a young person so that they develop these instincts, they are actually the fundamentals, the hard skills which can drive them on to succeed,” Campbell says. The scheme, which receives just shy
serving four-year apprenticeships in a range of trades, including plumbing, electrical and painting and decorating. The EIB announcement allows Wheatley to progress its ambitious building programme of 7500 new affordable homes between 2015 and 2025. The new homes are being built across central Scotland from Balloch and Dumbarton through Glasgow, West Lothian and Edinburgh to North Berwick.
Chloe Graham
The charity working to serve ‘Scotland’s overlooked teenagers’ Workingrite helps disadvantaged young people into jobs
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of £1m in government, local authority, trust fund and corporate funding, is proving popular with employers, too. They pay £7-a-day for the privilege – which ‘invests’ them into the process and helps to create one of the highest training allowance rates in Scotland of £90-a-week. “We try to make finding the right young person easy for the employer. With apprenticeships, it can be very time-consuming and they get a few weeks in and realise it’s not for them. Our focus is on making the match between the young person and the employer. If one role doesn’t suit we try and find another. You have to be patient, it will not always work out the first time round. We have one girl who we placed in full-time employment in just two weeks because the care home wanted her before any others snapped her up. And another where it took nine months. But the crucial thing is not to put any constraints on it.”
More than half of the 200-plus young people the charity places every year are from areas of high deprivation in Glasgow: Gorbals, Pollok, Whiteinch, Maryhill and Yoker. Other projects also exist for similarly disadvantaged young people in Edinburgh, East Lothian, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, Argyll and Moray; traditional trades predominate and Campbell would like that to change in the future, by inculcating even greater aspirations among young people. There are different roles emerging, however. One teenager is making chocolate in East Lothian, and another is making midge nets in Oban. Workingrite is also preparing the ground for a course on business ownership, supporting those who have natural, yet untapped entrepreneurial zeal. In the Year of Young People, Campbell’s biggest hope is that politicians will realise there is a level of disadvantage in Scotland which doesn’t have a neat label, and that educational attainment doesn’t have to be drilled in to young people at such a young age. Campbell says: “Many of these young people are just not on the radar, it’s as though they want to disappear. We want to support them – and we want our young people to go back and get those qualifications once they’ve realised that there’s a career out there for them. But we shouldn’t be asking them to make all these life-changing decisions at such a young age. We should be giving alternatives to the classroom.” www.workingrite.co.uk
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YEAR OF YOUNG PEOPLE 2018
SQA
23 August 2018
Write Times 2 was launched by SQA to give young people a taste of what it feels like to be a published author
Be creative Write Times 2 is a brand new collection of the best creative writing by students across Scotland who have completed English at National 4, National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher level, and Higher National qualifications in Creative Industries over the past year. Endorsed personally by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon – an avid reader who often shares her book recommendations on Twitter – the initiative has given young
writers, such as Orla Davey, from St Margaret’s Academy in Livingston, West Lothian, a chance to shine and see their work published in an eponymously titled book. When asked how it felt to be a published author she said: “It feels really good, because I’ve been writing from a young age; I never thought I’d come this far at this age – it feels really amazing.” “This is what I’d always dreamed of when I was wee,” added Mahee Mustafa
of Glasgow’s Kelvinside Academy. “I would always just write and fill notebooks and pages, of things that I wrote. But I never thought this would happen so early, and for it finally to happen is like the dream, it’s crazy, out of this world.” Also in the creative arts, SQA has supported the development of a very ‘hands-on’ approach to music production in Aberdeen. Students there are showcasing their creative talents to
the local community thanks to an innovative project based at North East Scotland College. SilverNote Music Enterprise gives budding sound engineers, musicians, film-makers and photographers the opportunity to work together, and with industry experts, to create evidence for their SQA coursework and assessments. Through collaborations with performing arts venues in the city, the project gives students a platform to
share their achievements, through producing and promoting an event to performing live on the night. Alistair McKay, SQA Regional Manager, said: “SQA qualifications are designed in such a way that they can be delivered as part of projects like SilverNote. This flexibility means that students benefit from interesting learning opportunities whilst academic standards are maintained.”
Empowering young people to succeed in all walks of life From the creative arts to policing, SQA is championing the right path for all Scotland’s young people
Helping people ‘realise their potential and achieve their ambitions’ is a well-defined mission statement, and it’s one that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is taking very seriously during Scotland’s Year of Young People (YOYP). With 135,000 students having passed through the rite of passage that is the annual National Qualifications
examination system this summer, Scotland’s national awarding and accreditation body is proud of its work in steering the nation’s youth through a testing time whilst also keen to stress its role is increasingly much more than simply equiping young people with the educational resources they need to progress through various layers of academia. With many young people anxious
or undecided about the next steps they will take – witness the likes of the #NoWrongPath social media campaign to try and break the taboo around being labelled a failure so early on – SQA is working hard to promote viable and inspiring pathways that might appeal to 16 to 24-year-olds with little or no experience of the real world outside the classroom.
In order to ensure young people feel ‘empowered’, part of the stated aim of the Year of Young People, and that their voices are heard, SQA has this year backed a number of innovative projects designed to give young people a foretaste of what it really feels like to become a published author, a music producer, or even a police officer.
SQA
23 August 2018
YEAR OF YOUNG PEOPLE 2018
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Care experienced young people received their results courtesy of Deputy First Minister John Swinney
A caring organisation A group of 20 young people who have been through the care system were hand-delivered their exam results by Scotland’s Deputy First Minister. John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, attended a special celebration in Glasgow for the group from across Scotland, many of whom were receiving results for the first time.
Among the candidates to receive their results from the Deputy First Minister was Morgan Jeffrys, a former pupil from Linlithgow Academy, who received results for Highers, and National 5 courses. She said: “It was nerve wracking, but really exciting. I’m really pleased with what I’ve got! I’m hoping to join the police, and I’m going to volunteer as a Special Constable for
Modern Apprentices at SQA
Leading by example As well as supporting the nationwide Modern Apprenticeship programme, SQA lives by its own virtues and takes on a number of apprentices each year, where candidates get valuable onthe-job training in a number of roles, with the opportunity to complete a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Business Administration. Uniquely, Modern Apprentices working at SQA also work towards a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in Business and IT as part of their
training. Amy Blain, joined SQA as a Modern Apprentice in August 2017, and is working as an administrator within SQA’s strategic planning and governance team. She said: The best part of the Modern Apprenticeship programme is the opportunities available to me to improve, and the chance to learn new skills that I can use at work. My confidence, time management, organisational, and problem solving skills, have all improved since I started working at SQA.”
the next couple of years to build some experience.” SQA Chairman, David Middleton, said: “With 2018 being the Year of Young People, and SQA taking a leading role as a responsible corporate parent, it is more important than ever that we provide young people, no matter their background, with the opportunities they need to demonstrate their talent, and help them celebrate
their achievements.” SQA works in partnership with Who Cares? Scotland, and MCR Pathways – charities that support young people coming through the care system. Kevin Browne-Macleod, Director of Care Experienced Membership at Who Cares? Scotland, said: “Our members have often told us how difficult they find it when they can’t celebrate achievements they are
The thin blue line Teenagers in Falkirk are the first in Scotland to work towards a new Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Police Studies. The qualification was created to provide 5th and 6th year pupils, who are interested in joining the police, with the opportunity to work towards a qualification whilst gaining hands on work experience. With lessons taking place at the college, the first intake of pupils to the two-year course have gained an insight into post-school learning. They have also seen first-hand what life as a new recruit to the police is like, through visits to the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan. Larbert High School pupil Sarah McDuff, who is in the second year of the HNC, said: “I’ve gained a huge amount of experience from it. If I was to go for an interview for the police I could say that I’ve talked to police officers and I know the role that I’ve got to play if I was successful.”
proud of in the way many of their friends do. Educational achievement for care experienced people should always be celebrated. We have been incredibly supportive of SQA’s continued attempts, as part of their corporate parenting role, to act like all loving parents would and to celebrate their children’s success with their children. We are delighted that they are doing this again in 2018.”
Renfrew High pupils gave useful feedback on SQA publications
Feedback loop A group of S3 pupils from Renfrew High School were given the chance to suggest improvements to important exam guidance publications while on a work experience placement with SQA. The pupils, all aged 14, were asked to review two key SQA documents – Your Coursework, and Your Exams – which provide over 140,000 school candidates a year with vital information about the assessments they will complete over the course of fourth, fifth and sixth year in secondary school. The brief the pupils were given asked them to review all aspects of the publications; from the informa-
tion they contained, to the language that was used in them, and how the documents were designed and presented. They were also asked to suggest how the information could be made more useful and what could make the documents more likely to be read by young people. Kerry McMillan, Senior Communications Manager at SQA, said: “We wanted to review these publications, but in a meaningful way that sought the views of the young people they are meant for.” Visit www.sqa.org.uk for more information
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YEAR OF YOUNG PEOPLE 2018
UNITE
A safety net that is always there for you Young people are being encouraged to join a union - and fight unfair work practices BY KEVIN O’SULLIVAN An estimated 1.8m people in the UK work in jobs where they are not guaranteed any hours in a given week, according to recent data published by the Office for National Statistics. So-called “zero-hours contracts” are a modern phenomenon, according to the organisation’s annual Labour Force Survey, which illustrates a stark rise in their use by employers since the turn of the century. And young people most often bear the brunt of this ‘exploitative’ workplace practice, with ONS figures indicating that people on a zero-hours contract are more likely to be at the younger end of the age range; 36.0% of people on zerohours contracts are aged 16 to 24 years, compared with 11.4% for all people in employment. Employers insist zero-hours contracts allow workers greater freedom in the so-called ‘gig economy’, enabling them to pick and choose when and where they work, and for whom. But the reality for many employees in low-paid work is that the lack of security means they end up frustrated and anxious: shifts can be cancelled at short notice, predicting income is nigh on impossible, and basic employment rights such as holiday or sick pay, or pensions, are absent. Unite the Union is spearheading a new awareness drive in Scotland, aimed squarely at young people, who may not have previously considered joining a union before, but would benefit from being able to access collective bargaining power, giving them a voice and a platform to contribute positively to a nationwide debate on employment topics that are all directly relevant to them: Zero Hours Contracts, The Living Wage, Holiday Pay, Sick Pay, Pensions, the list goes on. Pat Rafferty – Unite Scottish Secretary, says: “Young people increasingly have to work while studying in further and higher education in order to live and pay the rent. However, often when they do find work, young people are also victims of exploitation in the workplace whether over the use of zero hours contracts or low pay. Unite encourages all young people to join us irrespective of the type of work contract you are on. Unite is the union for you.” Unite has scored some major successes this year in persuading employers to adopt fairer working practices. Leading Edinburgh arts venue Summerhall has agreed to offer its hourly paid Fringe staff during the festival season minimum contracts of 30 hours per week for those working full time with bespoke minimum hours contracts for all staff to follow. Under a voluntary recognition agreement between Unite and Summerhall, staff will be entitled to breaks which will
be written into their contracts, and whilst they do not have volunteering positions, all training shifts will be paid. Staff will be given at least four weeks notice of rotas and will be guaranteed 100% of tips. A harder fought gain came in Glasgow after an employment tribunal ruled last month that leading hospitality firm G1 Group had denied Unite members their legal right to representation after eight staff at the city’s Grosvenor Café had been ‘sacked en masse’, without notice pay, and denied access to their union’s representation; a syndicate of six union members have now been given leave to pursue the company for wrongful and unfair dismissal. For the good work to continue into the future, Unite wants more young people to get directly involved with their local organising committee, and make positive changes to working culture and practices. There are currently 16 youth delegates on Unite Scotland’s Youth Committee, which meets every quarter to discuss a range of issue facing young people in general including precarious work, affordable housing, apprenticeships and a living wage. Fay Graham, 23, is Chair of Unite Scotland’s newly-convened Hospitality Branch in Glasgow. She describes how she felt inspired to make a change to the way a leading city hotel operated, after a number of issues arose; staff were on zero-hours contracts, were subject to a regime where shifts were cancelled, and tips not shared. Staff were also frequently sent home early and not paid the Living Wage, and subject to a ‘sexist’ uniform policy. She says: “I work for a hotel chain with properties across the UK. I finally had enough of the terrible working conditions that my colleagues and I are subjected to and wanted to do something about it. We are on minimum wage, zero-hours contracts. The company keeps all card and room charge tips left to us. We work in a very stressful and high pressure environment and it needs to change.” She added: “Being a member of Unite has given me the knowledge and the confidence to challenge my employer on our precarious working conditions. The hotel chain recently introduced a sexist uniform policy requiring female members of staff to wear makeup at all times, as well as high heels. I, along with many of my colleagues, knew this was wrong but being in the trade union meant I had the support to challenge this. The new policy was removed in its entirety in all their hotels across the UK and replaced with a gender neutral policy which is not sexist.” Unite is the largest trade union in the UK and Ireland with around 1.42 million members across 20 different private, public and voluntary sectors including manufacturing, public services, transport, food, finance and construction.’ For details visit www.unitetheunion.org
23 August 2018
Fighting back
Name: Maria Feeney Age: 21 From: Wishaw Occupation: Student Issues: Zero-hours contracts “I saw first hand the discrimination that a multi-billion pound company could get away with by putting their staff on zero-hours contracts. After working in a few other roles I decided to join Unite the Union, as I was inspired by their work following their successful campaigns which fought back against injustices which often stemmed from zero-hours contracts and minimum wage pay. I believe that trade unions have a home in every workplace. The union movement is a safety net that will always be there for you. I am a proud trade unionist and I’ll continue to speak out against the hardships that workers face from their exploitative employers.” most young workers have little power to challenge poor conditions, low wages and zero-hours contracts. Trade unions need a strong youth movement in order to remain dynamic, relevant and powerful.”
Name: Morgan Horn Age: 22 Occupation: Student From: East End, Glasgow Issues: Erosion of rights “The lives and working conditions of young people are increasingly precarious. Young people disproportionately work in insecure jobs and in workplaces with no union presence. As individuals,
Name: Erin McAuley Age: 20 From: Irvine, North Ayrshire Issues: Low-paid bar work, equality, transparency “The experiences of being on a low paid job, not being able to keep my tips and facing multiple issues as a young person inspired me to join the union because I wanted to join a movement that would help me fight back. Now, more than ever, young people need protection at work. Thousands of younger
people are at the receiving end of some of the most exploitative, insecure and low-paid work seen in modern employment. Lots of younger workers aren’t taught about their rights at work or are empowered to stand up to bosses or fight for better and what they deserve. Lone battles won’t be won but being part of something bigger like the Trades Union movement means we are able to win together and fight for better working conditions, wages and fairer workplaces for all.”
You can contact Unite’s officer with responsibility for young workers for further information about how to get involved at Lorna.Glen@unitetheunion.org or Twitter: @UniteScotYouth
GIRLS’ BRIGADE SCOTLAND
23 August 2018
YEAR OF YOUNG PEOPLE 2018
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A lively, vibrant, volunteer-led organisation for girls and young women
About Girls’ Brigade Scotland
The place to bee… Girls’ Brigade Scotland is growing again, as an organisation fit for the 21st century BY WILLIAM PEAKIN “Two years ago, this bee was a duck,” laughs Caroline Goodfellow, pointing to some marketing material on the table. The aquatic mascot had emerged, slightly randomly, from a residential weekend the Girls’ Brigade held in Dundee several years ago (the hotel they were staying in gave each guest a plastic duck). “It stuck for a time, but I couldn’t really see how it would become an enduring symbol,” she said. For the past five years, Caroline and her colleagues on the Executive have been making some pretty tough decisions; the switch from a duck to a bee has probably been the easiest. In 1993, on its 100th anniversary, membership of Girls’ Brigade Scotland stood at more than 16,000. Today, in its 125th year, the number is down to just over 8,000. Faced, in 2012, with a stark message from consultants - ‘modernise or die’ – Caroline, the Executive, and a small team embarked on a change programme designed to make Girls’ Brigade Scotland an organisation “fit for the 21st century”. It began with simplifying the uniform, to make it more accessible to
families. Tougher, however, was introducing succession planning; making it easier for younger members to move into leadership roles. “When you put so much into something, as our leaders do, it can be difficult sometimes for people to let go and allow the next generation to take over,” said Caroline. “But without a succession strategy in place, we were losing hundreds of members in one fell swoop if a leader became ill - or sadly, died – and there was no one to take over.” Equally radical for the organisation were the changes to its Brigade badge work programme, designed to engage with contemporary issues such as bioethics and multi-faith society. The process is not top-down, however; for example, one company wants to develop a module on dementia. Thanks to the organisation’s move from physical resource packs to online learning, it is much easier to add in new modules to add one on dementia which can be used by companies across Scotland. The Brigade’s leadership training programme has been revamped as well, allowing girls from age 16 to chart a course of personal and professional development. All volunteer Leaders are required to access an online induction course. Additional benefits of this move to digital have been reduced costs and impact on the environment. Tough decisions have brought results; the steady decline in membership has been halted and, in fact, there has been a net gain this year. Improved
communications and marketing have also resulted from the change programme. WHICH IS where Gracie Bee comes in.
“I was actually looking at ducks on a custom toys site,” said Caroline, “and up popped this bee! I thought we could have ‘Girls’ Brigade Bee’, ‘GBB’, and so on. “The more we worked on it, the more we could see its strengths as a symbol - ‘Girls’ Brigade Scotland; the place to bee’, ‘Get the buzz’, and so on. Her first name, ‘Gracie’, comes from the notion of Christian grace which is at the heart of all we do in GB.” It’s taken more than a year to develop and source the marketing materials, but they have been a hit straight out of
“Gracie is having a real impact. Our girls love her, even coming up with their own variation on the name; like Bee-oncé!” Caroline Goodfellow
the box; one volunteer used the recent European Championships in Glasgow to spread the word and shared thousands of items. Gracie was at the Girls’ Brigade International Council in Zambia earlier this year. And for six weeks over the summer, she is gracing Adshel sites in Glasgow, Dundee, and Aberdeen; 352,800 10-second plays, in total, to passers-by. “Gracie is having a real impact,” said Caroline. “Our girls love her, even coming up with their own variation on the name; like Bee-oncé!” With membership beginning to rise again, the Executive is determined to keep the momentum going and build on the hard work over recent years of the organisation’s 1,500 volunteers. A competition has been launched using Gracie, along with the line ‘Girls’ Brigade Scotland is the place to bee because…’, and a blank speech bubble - inviting members to come up with their reasons why. “It could be a sentence, or it could be a 20-second video,” said Caroline. “We want everyone to have the chance to say what they value and, although it’s a competition, we’ll use as many as possible because each member’s reason is special to them and equally strong. “We know why, but now we want the world to know; we’re a modern organisation - come and join us, give it a go.” If you want to know more about what Girls’ Brigade Scotland has to offer please visit www.girls-brigade-scotland. org.uk or telephone 0141 332 1765.
A lively, vibrant, volunteer-led organisation for girls and young women. Modern, progressive, open to girls of all faiths or none, with over 200 companies serving more than 8,000 members in communities throughout Scotland. Girls’ Brigade companies offer a safe place for girls and young women to meet, a place for fun, a place for learning, a place for challenge, a place for personal development and a place where every girl is valued irrespective of her background. Welcoming to those with educational or other special needs. All sections follow a balanced, age-appropriate programme offering educational, service, spiritual and physical elements, ensuring a holistic approach. Its award scheme provides the opportunity for girls to learn new skills at a level appropriate to their ability in a fun, safe and secure environment. All Girls’ Brigade companies are affiliated to local churches and are an integral part of both church and local community. Service to others is part of the philosophy of the organisation as is demonstrated through the level of volunteering offered by around 1,500 committed adult leaders each week, all of whom undertake appropriate training, including safeguarding.
Challenging perceptions There has been a view that Girls’ Brigade Scotland is “a small organisation for girls that meets in church halls.” That’s very much not the case, said chief executive Caroline Goodfellow: “We are an organisation fit for the 21st century, for the girls and women of the 21st century.” It is a Christian organisation, that is its bedrock, she said. Its motto is ‘Seek, Serve and Follow Christ.” But what is perhaps not widely recognised, said Caroline, is that it is “open to girls and young women of all faiths and none”. Added Caroline: “Modern families have changed. We are living in a secular society.” Girls’ Brigade Scotland has participated in recent Pride festivals. “We are a broad church, we value all; equality and diversity are a big part of our journey.”
HOW SCOTLAND’S INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS ARE HELPING TO DELIVER THE BEST FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE The Year of Young People is an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the importance of Scotland’s young people. As a parent, it’s natural to want to give your child every opportunity to discover what they’re good at and what they love doing from an early age. That’s why we are proud to represent the independent sector in Scotland – a sector committed to championing and developing our young people.
Whether you have a tech-loving future internet entrepreneur on your hands, or a child who craves hours of fresh air and exercise every day, Scotland’s independent schools offer you the freedom to find the right environment for your child by focusing on: Choice
Schools offer an exciting array of experiences geared towards helping your child grow physically, socially and in confidence. With a wide range of sporting, arts and extra-curricular activities on offer, there’s something for everyone.
Diversity
Around 30,000 young people attend an independent school in Scotland. One in four receive financial assistance and an increasing number of students are coming to study from overseas, meaning they provide a diverse and varied environment for your child.
Excellence
Smaller pupil/teacher ratios and investment in teaching facilities attracts a very high calibre of teaching staff who ignite a passion for the subjects they teach. This is reflected in their students’ exam results.
The Year of Young People shouldn’t be confined to one year. We should constantly promote and advocate for our young people and at SCIS, we are committed to doing just that.