70,000 young people aged 16-25 are not in education, employment or training in Scotland. This is proportionally the highest of any developed country in the world and is causing a wide range of social ills.

» The Scottish Government’s More Choices More Chances Strategy [ this link opens in a new window]

This action plan aims to reduce the proportion of young people not in education employment or training in Scotland.

The Scottish Government have a headline figure of 35,000 (13.5%) young people in Scotland between the ages of 16 and 19 who are in this group. There is evidence to suggest that a truer figure for those who will need some additional support to access and sustain opportunities in the labour market is around 20,000. Extending this to 25 year olds brings the figure to 70,000.

The sub-groups identified are: care leavers; carers; young offenders; young parents; low attainers; persistent truants; young people with physical/mental disabilities; young people misusing drugs or alcohol.

For some young people this is a finite, transitional phase, ending in a positive outcome. For others, it is both a symptom of disadvantage and disengagement in earlier years and indicates a lifelong disengagement from actively participating in and benefiting from a prosperous society.Even for those young people fortunate enough to have a degree, the situation in Scotland is bleak - 44% of graduates are in non-graduate jobs.

All of these groups need options available across the country and traditional approaches are not working.