Scottish Ministers recognise the value of youth work and of giving young people interesting and innovative opportunities in their area as this can help young people develop their personal and social potential.
The Scottish Government recently launched a youth work strategy, "Moving Forward: A Strategy for Improving Young People's Chances Through Youth Work" and the Government's long term vision for youth work has 2 main elements:
- all young people in Scotland able to benefit from youth work opportunities which make a real difference to their lives; and
- a youth work sector equipped and empowered to achive ongoing positive outcomes for young people now and in the future.
To launch the strategy, and give a boost to the youth work sector, a Year of Action was launched, through this £8 million was opened up through 3 grants for the sector:
- Improving Facilities Fund (£5 million)
- Youth Opportunities Fund (£2.5million)
- Voluntary Organisations Support Fund (£0.5 million)
All funds have now closed for bids, but if you would like to find out who the successful applicants were, please contact YouthLink Scotland on 0131 313 2488.
As a result of the strategy, the Scottish Government has been working with various volunteer-led organisations who have been instrumental in developing "Volunteering in the Youth Work sector: An Action Plan", which was launched at the Youth Scotland conference in November 2007.
The Action Plan's overall aim is to support volunteering in the youth work sector through a series of measures which can deliver a lasting positive impact. It recognises the contribution made by volunteers and commits to action in a range of areas including recruitment, induction, skills, and management and leadership development.
The Scottish Government are particularly grateful to Youth Scotland and to the Chief Executives represented on Youthlink's Voluntary Organisations Chief Officers' Group. They have contributed their time and expertise to develop a focused and practical Action Plan which can make a difference to the experience of volunteers and help deliver more choices, more chances and better outcomes for young people in Scotland.
If you are interested in contributing to taking the Action Plan forward please contact Youth Scotland who will be developing the key measures.