Scottish Government announces additional £100 million funding for employment support and training in response to coronavirus outbreak

Economy Secretary also confirms that Fair Start employment support service has been extended by two years to March 2023

The Scottish Government has announced an additional £100 million in funding for employment support and training in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Setting out details of the funding - which is on top of the £33 million already committed for employability support for 2020/2021 - the Scottish Government says that the new package of support will include a job guarantee for young people, a new national retraining scheme, and more funding to provide immediate assistance and advice if people are made redundant.

The Scottish Government also confirms that the Fair Start employment support service has been extended for a further two years.

Commenting on the new funding, Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said -

'We are potentially facing unemployment on a scale not seen for decades as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19). Today’s announcements show that we are ready to rise to this challenge with investment to help ensure that people who have lost jobs, those at risk of unemployment and young people entering the labour market can benefit from more and better job opportunities.

This crisis is having a significant impact on our young people and we need to act quickly to protect their future. I have asked Sandy Begbie, who led the Developing the Young Workforce Group that played a pivotal role in the delivery of the Edinburgh Guarantee to young people, to develop an implementation plan for a job guarantee for young people, as recommended by the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, and we will set out more detail on that plan in early August.

The extension to Fair Start Scotland will also provide stability and continuity to the most vulnerable and those furthest from the labour market, including people with disabilities, health conditions and those who are long-term unemployed, to help them progress into work.'

For more information, see £100 million funding for employment support and training from gov.scot