As our children grow they increasingly need and want independence, including a growing sense of financial independence.
That financial independence, and learning how to manage money comes through, amongst other things, training and employment, having their own bank account, and choosing how to spend their funds responsibly.
16-and-17-year-olds in Aberdeen who are not in education, formal training, or employment can earn a training allowance of £60 per week if they register with ABZWorks and actively engage with us andour contracted partners.
We teamed up with Skills Development Scotland and some of the city’s training providers to raise awareness in communities about the opportunities available to our young people and the training allowance which goes alongside them through a series of Next Steps events.
The teams visited Aberdeen Lads Club and Middlefield Hub to meet people seeking careers and employability information and support and to promote the offer of help and the wealth of training opportunities across Aberdeen – the Local Employability Partnership endorsed plans to invest almost £2million of Scottish Government No One Left Behind funding in training courses this year.
We also held a city centre session in Skills Development Scotland’s Union Street premises and further promoted the training allowance and opportunities at the ABZWorks Jobs Fair at the Beach Ballroom last week.
Skills Development Scotland area manager Nicola Graham said: “The Next Steps events have been an excellent way to reach people in the communities that they live in and to raise awareness of the support available. I was delighted to see young people and their parents taking the time to come in to speak to us and to find out about about the support available to them.
“Thank you to Middlefield Club and Aberdeen Lads Club for hosting the events, and to the training providers who joined the Skills Development Scotland and ABZWorks teams.”
ABZWorks is part of Aberdeen City Council’s Employability and Skills service. Team leader Angela Taylor added: “By getting the right support in place at the right time for our young people, we are setting them up for successful futures. Not only that, we are supporting their parents and wider families. The Next Steps events were a successful trial for us and we’re looking forward to joining forces with partners across Aberdeen communities again.
“We’re taking it a step further next month, when we’ll be meeting pupils who plan to leave Lochside Academy at Christmas, and help them to plan their Next Steps.”
For more information about training allowance and employability support available, call ABZWorks on 01224 070200 or email abzworks@aberdeencity.gov.uk