Report to the People
13th November 2006
No
NEET Solutions
You
can’t turn on the television or open a newspaper these days without being
confronted with adverts condemning you for wasting natural resources.
But, as important as warnings about saving gas and electricity are,
there’s never a mention of one natural resource we’re particularly guilty of
wasting: the potential of our young people.
There
are around 15,000 young Scots who are not in employment, education, or training
and who need our help to get out of that rut.
As
the Convenor of the newly-established Cross Party Group on the issue, however, I
am pleased that it’s finally making its way up the political agenda. Indeed, it was the main topic of debate for MSPs last
Wednesday.
The
reasons why youngsters are being allowed to waste their lives, I argued in the
Chamber, are deep-seated. The
decline of our traditional industries, for example, took work from the working
classes and saw generations of children growing up knowing nothing but a life on
benefits.
To
its credit, the Executive has published the first ever action plan to end this
waste. To be effective, any plan
must ensure that young people have both the right support - such as that offered
James Watt College’s “Routes to Work” programme - and sufficient
aspirations to take advantage of it.
Every
MSP who spoke on Wednesday agreed there is a need to act.
So, when it comes to making tough choices and giving the have-nots a
bigger share of the investment, they’ll need to put their money where their
mouth is.
Back to Current Reports to the People
[ HOME ] [ News ] [ Report to the People ] [ Interact ] [ Links ] [ E-Mail ]
[ Copyright ] [ Directgov ] [ Scottish Parliament ]