Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch has congratulated the Shirlie Project on securing funding from the Third Sector & Social Enterprise Challenge Fund. The fund aims to help young people aged 16 to 24 to move towards and into employment.

Commenting on the recent award, Dave Thompson said: “At a time when unemployment remains a challenge, particularly amongst young people, it is great to recognise the valuable work that organisations like the Shirlie Project do.

The Shirlie Project has secured £106,952 in funding to provide employment support to young people wishing to enter employment. The project helps young people through individual training plans that focus on individual circumstances and their motivations.

The project helps secure work placements to provide opportunities to help young people decide what job or career is best for them. A majority of the project’s Highland and Islands participants have found employment in Inverness and Lochaber.

Adding to this, Mr Thompson said: “I’m delighted to be able to congratulate the Shirlie Project on their recent award from the Third Sector & Social Enterprise Challenge Fund. The project’s commitment to helping our young people enter employment is a valuable resource, especially during these difficult economic times.

Our youth are the future of our communities, so it’s great to see that projects like this are receiving funding to promote young people’s opportunities to learn, grow, and succeed. This investment will enable the Shirlie Project to provide even more support to young job seekers in Lochaber.

By helping young job seekers to find placements with local companies, the Shirlie Project will help our communities to retain our most talented youngsters.

The Scottish Government is doing all it can to stimulate growth in the economy, despite the constraints of the Westminster austerity agenda, and  the Third Sector and Social Enterprise Challenge Fund is providing vital support to projects that can really improve young people’s prospects.”