In advance of World Youth Skills Day, staff from Hays volunteered for Helm to provide young people bespoke and tailored guidance to support them to take the next steps into employment.
Shockingly, the youth unemployment rate for young people in Dundee is the highest it has been in six years and runs counter to the general trend of decreasing levels of unemployment within the city.[1] Additionally, Dundee has the highest level of 16 to 19 year olds not participating in any education, training, volunteering or employment of any local authority in Scotland.
Helm works at a grassroots level with young people from Tayside, providing employability support to enable them to move forward to positive destinations, including employment, education or further training. Young people at Helm can obtain qualifications, gain work experience, prepare for employment, get practical hands-on experience of various industries and access further education. They are fully supported through the different stages, gaining vital life-skills and confidence during their time at the charity.
Staff from Hays, a specialist recruitment agency with a local office based in Dundee, volunteered to support Helm’s work by visiting Helm on Thursday 13th July to run an Employment Clinic for young people. Nicola Berthelsen (Manager) and Pippa Reddy (Recruitment Consultant) from Hays Dundee worked with the young people on an individual basis to ensure that the support was industry specific and tailored to the young people’s interests and future career aspirations. Young people were given guidance around interview techniques and how to apply for specific roles, resources providing employability advice and support to access Hays’ online portal providing them with training courses focused on gaining employment skills.
The session was run to help support young people on their journey into employment in advance of World Youth Skills day on Saturday 15th July.
The theme for World Youth Skills Day 2023 is “Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future”. It highlights the essential role that teachers, trainers and other educators play in providing skills for youth to transition to the labour market and to actively engage in their communities and societies. This year the UN is calling for organisations and individuals to unite to recognise the potential of young people as catalysts for change and commit to providing them with the skills and opportunities they need to build a prosperous and sustainable world for all.
We are incredibly grateful to staff from Hays for volunteering their time. They enabled us to put the UN’s call into action and we were pleased to unite with them to provide another opportunity for young people to gain knowledge and information. Staff at Helm are passionate about providing holistic support to young people to enable them to move to a positive destination. Staff volunteering from Hays is an important part of the journey for the young people who benefited from the Employment Clinic and I’m pleased that Hays worked with us to provide this bespoke and tailored support. One of the young people who attended the session is passionate about joining the police to make a positive contribution to community and we look forward to seeing him progress towards his passion, helped by the support from Hays. Ally Calder, Chief Executive at Helm
It was a pleasure to be able to support Helm by volunteering and running the Employment Clinic in the run up to World Youth Skills Day. At Hays, we are passionate about supporting people in the local community to find employment that is right for them. It was great to have the opportunity to share some of my knowledge and experience with young people at Helm and we hope that it helps them successfully gain employment in the future. Nicola Berthelsen, Manager at Hays in Dundee
Helm is calling for all local employers in Tayside to contact them on hello@helm