Today, the Scottish Government has launched its youth employment strategy, which coincides with the closure of its mental health strategy consultation. Aberlour, a leading Scottish children’s charity, is highlighting the relationship between youth unemployment and mental health, calling for closer coordination of efforts in these areas.
Aberlour Child Care Trust, which delivers a range of services that offer support to some of Scotland’s hardest to reach young people, is suggesting that efforts to improve levels of youth employment should be linked to measures in the mental health strategy.
Low levels of self esteem, caused by a range of issues including family breakdown, poverty, and parental substance misuse can dramatically impact on educational attainment, and ultimately employment prospects in vulnerable groups, such as care leavers and young carers.
Speaking after the launch of the Government’s youth employment strategy, the Head of Policy at Aberlour, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:
“The Scottish Government’s focus on both youth unemployment and mental health is warmly welcomed. However, these must go hand in hand if we are to achieve better results.
The government rightly puts both youth employment and mental health at the heart of the preventative spending agenda, but to make real inroads into tackling youth unemployment in a transformational way, we must divert resources to new priorities. For example, we need to dramatically reduce waiting times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, far beyond the current Government target of 26 weeks.
Going forward, it is essential that the Government, Local Authorities, and Service Providers work together to ensure that both strategies are developed and implemented in tandem. Only then will we have a better opportunity to improve the wellbeing and life chances of Scotland’s vulnerable young people.”