A pioneering scheme to help vulnerable 16 to 19-year-olds into employment, training or education is delivering results for more than 1800 young people.

Activity Agreements aim to prepare individuals for more formal courses and form part of range of actions being taken across Scotland to support more young people into employment.

With all 32 councils now participating, 70% of the 2617 young people who took part in 2012-13 have moved into a mixture of jobs, college or training programmes, the Scottish Government said.

Research also carried out by the organisation YouthLink Scotland shows 79% of young people surveyed have sustained their progression beyond six months.

Minister for Youth Employment Angela Constance said: "Activity Agreements exist to help some of our most vulnerable young people improve their job prospects.

"Not only am I very pleased all councils now offer Activity Agreements, but the rate of young people moving on to fresh, positive opportunities clearly shows they are working.

"Taking a place in college or embarking on a training programme can transform the life of a young person and I want to see Activity Agreements continue to deliver for the most vulnerable teenagers in Scotland for years to come."

The youth unemployment rate north of the Border has been recently on a downward trend. Figures for the first three months of the year showed 67,000 16 to 24-year-olds were out of work. Scotland's youth unemployment rate was 16.6%, lower than the UK rate of 20.3%.

However, the claimant count, showing the number of Scots out of work and claiming Jobseeker's allowance, rose by 100 from the March total to 136,800 for April.

Ms Constance, who was appointed in 2011 to tackle the problem, said there would be "no let-up" in government efforts.

"Activity Agreements are an important part of our action to support even more young people towards and into employment," she added.