Greens Pledge Youth Support as Harvie, Robb and Wilson meet Streetleague
Scottish Greens pledged their support for getting young people into work, education and training as party co-convener Patrick Harvie met members of the Street League project in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.
The Scottish Greens, who are polling strongly on the regional vote, with the latest TNS poll suggesting Green MSPs will be returned from across the eight parliamentary regions, are calling for a "Scotland Guarantee" - a commitment that every school leaver is offered a job, training or further education. Such a commitment already exists in Edinburgh, and Greens want to see it rolled out across Scotland.
The Street League project uses sport to help build young people's social skills, encouraging them into work and training. Visiting the project in Hamilton today, Patrick Harvie was joined by Kirsten Robb, Youth Employment spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP candidate for Central Scotland, and by John Wilson, Employment, Living Wage and Skills spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and fellow MSP candidate for Central Scotland.
Kirsten Robb said: "Cuts to initiatives such as the number of Employability Fund places mean that young people will soon find it even harder to locate good opportunities for work. It doesn’t have to be that way, and once elected I will fight for better youth employment prospects across Central Scotland."
Patrick Harvie said: "Green MSPs in the next session of parliament will campaign for a Scotland Guarantee of a job, training or education for every school-leaver. Local authority and Scottish Government action, such as the Edinburgh Guarantee and Opportunities for All, has helped but we must be bolder. Too many young people are still left without the opportunity to work or study."