Year of Young People 2018 Set to Begin

Scotland is set to celebrate a global first in 2018 with the Year of Young People. And in another first,the Year has been developed for young people, by young people who will now play a central role in delivering the programme of events that aims to create new opportunities for our young people locally and nationally whilst showcasing their talents and achievements to the world.

The Year will support the SNP Scottish Government’s ambition of making Scotland the best place to grow up, and in order to properly address the issues facing young people, the key themes and outcomes for the Year were determined by young people themselves.

In government, the SNP has protected and expanded the Education Maintenance Allowance, which has been scrapped south of the border; expanded the target number of Modern Apprenticeship programmes to 30,000 new starts; abolished university tuition fees while the Tories increased them to £27,750; and the latest Labour Market statistics reveal that Scottish youth unemployment is at its lowest on record, significantly lower than the UK’s, and youth employment is 4.7% higher in Scotland.

Commenting, SNP MSP Rona Mackay said:

“Scotland’s Year of the Young People will be a fantastic opportunity to put the needs, views and interests of young people at the heart of government activity and to focus on creating a better Scotland for our young people to grow up in.

“In government, the SNP’s £750 million Attainment Scotland Fund has already helped to hire 506 new teachers and we have scrapped tuition fees, ensuring that 2017 saw the highest ever number of Scottish residents and the highest ever number of students from the most deprived areas going to university in Scotland.

“But the Tories’ destructive welfare policies have slashed housing benefits for young people, pushed child poverty rates up by 30% and they are shamefully forcing young people to live on poverty pay by refusing to support a national living wage for under 25s.The SNP has called for a fair and equal minimum wage - protected rights in the workplace and votes at 16 in all elections and SNP MPs will support a ban on exploitative zero-hour contracts.

"I look forward to using the Year of Young People as a positive platform to help ensure we are getting it right for every young person in Scotland."