This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Hunter Foundation and Executive join forces
25/03/2004
An initiative aimed at equipping disaffected pupils
across Scotland with business and personal skills to
prepare them for life beyond school begins today.
From August, more than 2,000 young people will have the
chance to take part in the course - jointly funded by
the Executive and the Hunter Foundation - to teach them
about all aspects of business, from planning and costing to
manufacturing and sales.
This will be linked with developing their personal and
social skills to prepare them for adulthood and future
careers.
The £1 million pilot programme for third and fourth year
pupils is part of the Executive's Enterprise in Education
strategy, Determined to Succeed, and will be delivered by
three voluntary organisations - Young Enterprise Scotland,
the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust and Prince's
Trust for Scotland.
Education Minister Peter Peacock said:
"This initiative will give some young people who feel
school is irrelevant and are dissatisfied by the curriculum
a new opportunity to explore fresh challenges in different
ways.
"It is vital to re-engage disaffected young people in
learning by providing a flexible curriculum that gives
youngsters a route back into school. This project, together
with other Executive initiatives, helps us achieve that by
building on the respected and well established projects
already organised by many voluntary organisations.
"The programme is another innovative step forward in
seeking out new ways engage young people in developing the
skills they will need for their future. Not only do I hope
some new entrepreneurs will emerge from the experience but,
whatever their future, I believe the young people involved
will gain new insights into themselves, become more
enterprising and will gain many of the skills that will
help them achieve whatever it is they want to do."
Ewan Hunter, chief executive of The Hunter Foundation,
said:
"Many children, for a variety of reasons, can often
disengage educationally and this is an attempt to re-engage
them as individuals, providing them with the skills they
need to succeed in whatever they choose to pursue with
their lives.
"There is a cycle here that needs to be broken - often
disengagement at school leads to unemployment and worse
still. We as a society simply cannot afford nor allow human
talent to be undervalued nor misdirected, enterprising
education offers everyone a chance to shine in their own
way."
Bill Hughes, chairman of both Prince's Trust Scotland
and Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust, said:
"This builds on existing well respected and well
established projects linking personal development and
enterprise activity in a seamless model thus preparing
these young people for the world of work and developing an
enterprising culture in later life. This is a not so quiet
revolution for Scotland and another world first in
enterprise in education."
Chris van der Kuyl, chairman of Young Enterprise
Scotland, said:
"The strategic alliance brings together three youth
organisations with years of experience of working both in
and alongside the educational system and in designing and
delivering enterprise based solutions. This is joined up
thinking at its best from the Scottish Executive and The
Hunter Foundation - this is about efficiency, maximising
impacts and giving many young lives fresh impetus."
The course will build upon the existing xl programme run
by the Prince's Trust for Scotland, with a greater emphasis
on enterprise through Young Enterprise Scotland and will be
available as an option choice.
The first course will start in August and is expected to
be available in the 42 schools where xl is currently used,
(a list of schools using the xl course is available by
contacting the number at the end of this release). The
course will be called Xlerate.
A research programme will be put in place to
independently monitor and evaluate the programme and assess
its suitability to be rolled out for all Scotland's
educationally disengaged young people.