Young people bring fresh perspectives, enthusiasm and potential to the workplace, but creating the right opportunities requires understanding and practical support. In this guest blog, professional Careers Adviser Greig Paterson shares his perspective on the challenges young job seekers can face, the value of work experience and apprenticeships, and the benefits of connecting young people with employers.
To support organisations further, we have recently developed our Employing Young People in the Workplace download, packed with practical, accessible advice to help employers welcome, develop and retain young talent.
Key Insights from Greig
My name is Greig Paterson and I am a Careers Adviser with Skills Development Scotland. I work with young people in schools and post-school settings across Edinburgh. My role is to provide career guidance and support to help young people move into positive destinations. These destinations may include further education, training, volunteering, apprenticeships, employability programmes or into paid employment. I had been asked to give my thoughts and provide an insight into employing young people, challenges young job seekers face and the benefits for both employers and young people when you match a job seeker with an opportunity.
As Careers Advisers, we work closely with young people in schools to build their career management skills through career guidance sessions and group work. This involves helping them gain an understanding of themselves, their likes and dislikes, their strengths, identify their networks and how to utilise them and what opportunities are on the horizon in their future. We work closely with partners including schools, employability partners, college and developing young workforce to support the young people with their career management skills.
Work experience can be vital to help young people stand out in a competitive job market. Where possible, I encourage young people to take up opportunities of work experience or volunteering alongside their studies or when they are out of work. This can help build experience that is attractive to employers but also helps them gain new skills, experience the world of work, help them see what they enjoy and build confidence in themselves. I would encourage employers to get involved in offering young people with work experience opportunities and insights into the world of work. There are lots of employers already offering excellent in person and virtual work experience for young people which is great to see. The more help we can give our young people the better.
Young people have the opportunities to complete apprenticeships and these can start early in school with foundation apprenticeships where a young person combines school studies with a qualification whilst gaining work experience with a local employer. After school young people can apply for Modern Apprenticeships which is your traditional apprenticeship but these opportunities extend far wider and more and more apprenticeships in different industries are becoming available which is great. This is excellent progression as it provides young people with lots of different opportunities to choose from school to start their career. Apprenticeships combine learning on the job with study at a college or training centre. Furthermore, Graduate apprenticeships have been around for a number of years now and they give the opportunity to study at university level and gaining a degree whilst working and getting paid. The best part about apprenticeships is you earn while you learn (except from Foundation Apprenticeship).
This makes it a popular route for young job seekers that don’t choose to stay in full time education (you can find more about these opportunities on our website or apprenticeships.scot).
Employers can get involved in supporting these opportunities by reaching out to Skills Development Scotland and partners like Developing Young Workforce to see how they can provide opportunities for young people in school and post school. This can be apprenticeships, work experience or insights into your workplace. While some young people may have limited work experience initially, they often bring enthusiasm, adaptability, qualifications, knowledge, fresh perspectives and a strong willingness to learn. I speak to so many young people desperately trying to find work and want to develop key skills to help them in their career.
Providing young people with opportunities or insights can be vital to their development of their career management skills. The pupils in school today are your workforce in the future. So why not get involved!
Ready to Support the Next Generation?
Download Employing Young People in the Workplace for practical advice on creating meaningful opportunities and helping young people thrive at work. Whether you are considering work experience, an apprenticeship or a first job opportunity, even one positive step can make a lasting difference.
Download the guide today and start building a workplace where young talent can flourish:
The Employers Guide to Young Workers – Gravitate HR
And if you’d like help putting any of it into practice, whether that’s contracts and right-to-work checks, onboarding, or ongoing performance management, the Gravitate HR team is always happy to talk it through.
