Young People Archives

ABZWorks Development Grants create community training opportunities across Aberdeen

29 April 2026

ELEVEN community organisations have secured funding via the ABZWorks Development Grants Fund. The Fund focused on community-based, early-engagement employability activity to help Aberdeen residents overcome barriers to employment and move towards training, volunteering, education, self-employment or work. A broad range of support has been made available to city residents via the Fund, including confidence building, practical …

Katrina’s Journey: From Nervous Volunteer to Confident Team Member

12 March 2026

At just 17, Katrina is already a familiar face at Instant Neighbour—so familiar, in fact, that you’ll find her here most days of the week. What started as a volunteer role last September has blossomed into a paid placement through ABZWorks, and her story is a wonderful example of how the right support at the …

Navigating Redundancy: How PACE Can Help

6 March 2026

“Facing redundancy can be one of the most stressful experiences in anyone’s career,” says Grampian PACE co-chair Jane Gibson. “It’s natural to feel uncertain, anxious, or even overwhelmed. But you are not alone—and there is support available to help you move forward with confidence and hope.” What is PACE? Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) …

Grass roots organisations to benefit from ABZWorks Development Fund

8 January 2026

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the ABZWorks Development Grants Fund, to boost skills and employability activity in Aberdeen communities. The fund, which is now in its fourth round, offers grants of up to £10,000 to community-based and grass roots organisations in the city to help build and enhance their employability capacity. ABZWorks Development Grants …

ABZWorks Seeks Business Support for Funded Placements for City Residents

3 October 2025

We are seeking support from businesses to provide funded work experience placements. Using No One Left Behind monies from Scottish Government, and United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Funds from UK Government, we have created a funded package to enable city residents to enter the workforce through paid work experience placements. ABZWorks is looking for companies and …

A paid internship programme for care experienced young people

6 September 2023

A paid internship programme for care experienced young people has been launched by Aberdeen City Council’s ABZWorks employability service. Thirty young people in the city have expressed an interest in the 12-week placements, which are paid at Real Living Wage rate, with 10 underway so far. Opportunities are being offered across the authority, in services …

Creating Your Future

17 February 2023

Hi there, I’m Andrea Howard, a project co-ordinator with the Creative Learning Team. Part of my job is to organise classes for ABZWorks. We deliver one-to-one or small group creative workshops, enabling and empowering people in Aberdeen to improve their personal and employability skills. We work with people who have an interest in art …

A New start for New Scots

1 August 2022

A group of young Afghans who arrived in Aberdeen as New Scots have been working with the ABZWorks team. Keyworkers Katie and Paul tell us about how they have helped these 16-20-year-olds settle into the city and remove some barriers to work, education, and training. Our aim has been to empower the group to explore …

Sandy’s route to a new job

26 January 2022

Sandy came to ABZ Works after his time with Fair Start Scotland had come to an end. Sandy very clearly knew what he wanted to do which was to become a CCTV operator and had done a course in 2019 to gain competence in this area. After looking into CCTV jobs with security companies further, …

ABZWorks route to a new job

8 October 2021

Serious health issues weren’t going to hold Faye Robertson back from achieving her dream job. Since leaving school Faye, aged 20, found that she was increasingly feeling unwell and tired. She’d started training, with the aim of becoming a painter and decorator. When doctors revealed she was suffering from kidney failure and would need a …