YOUNG people who have grown up in care will get temporary full-time jobs as part of a programme to even the playing field in the jobs market.
People who have spent part of their childhoods in foster care, children's homes or looked after by a local authority are more likely to be excluded from school, leave education without qualifications, and fail to go into work or training.
Many lack confidence to seek employment, while businesses can overlook them due to a lack of qualifications or so-called 'soft skills'.
The Scottish Government is to invest more than £1m in programmes to overcome these barriers, in a partnership with leading charities Barnardo's, Action for Children and the Prince's Trust.
Employability minister Jamie Hepburn will today [thurs] launch the second phase of the Discovering Your Potential programme which will see 40 young care leavers given a job, relevant training and expenses, with leading employers including Kwik-Fit, Standard Life and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Mr Hepburn said the number of young people leaving care with qualifications had improved from 15 per cent in 20010 to 40 per cent, but there was more to be done.
He said he didn't think employers were prejudiced against care experienced young people, but added: "I think some may feel they not quite ready for the world of work. The employers involved in this scheme are trying to be willing to recognise that actually that young person will have abilities that haven't quite come to the fore, and work with them to that end. We can deliver success for these young people."
The scheme was welcomed by 21-year-old Reegan Watt, who was looked after at home when he was younger and subsequently ended up in HMP Polmont after involvement in gang activities. Now he works for Barnardo's mentoring other young people, after benefitting from Community Jobs Scotland, the voluntary sector employment programme run by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, which is getting £157,500 as part of the announcement.
"CJS allows a lot of young people to get a work guarantee they have maybe never had before. "I get a buzz out of working - I have a smile on my face from when I get up in the morning to when I go to bed," he said.
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