Comment: Co-operation can help youth unemployment

The challenges are many, and rising youth unemployment could have a resounding social impact for many years to come. The United Nations’ World Youth Report 2012 revealed that having less experience and fewer skills than adults makes it difficult for young people to secure work, even during times of economic buoyancy. However, a recent paper from Manpower Group identified those given access to learning opportunities and encouraged in the right skills flourish in the job market.

My organisation supports young, disadvantaged and unemployed people every day, in an effort to help them improve their prospects through a potential career within hospitality and tourism. It’s critical that we’re not the only ones encouraging youths into the world of work. A cohesive approach in conjunction with a large number of businesses, schools and colleges is needed.

Experiencing what a job entails and understanding the required skill-set is one of the most important things a young person can do to begin their future career.

Our partnerships play a vital role in enabling experts in their fields to provide their time and experience to engage directly with youngsters. Through a range of workshops, mentoring programmes and our annual Scottish Tourism Careers Festival, each initiative has been engineered to give practical insight into a sector that for many eventually leads to sustainable employment.

In the 21 years Springboard has been supporting young people, we’ve witnessed a sector that goes from strength to strength. In Scotland alone, hospitality and tourism is our second largest employer, contributing £11 billion to the Scottish economy and employing more than 220,000 people. Our sector is not alone in what it requires to thrive – to continue to foster confidence, develop skills and encourage talent in our young people.

• Elise MacDonald is operations manager of Springboard Scotland.