Recruiting Young People
By Ashleigh McCulloch, Creative Director, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Regional Lead, DYW Glasgow
We recently asked employers their thoughts on recruiting young people. Understanding the needs of young people (42%) and access to engage with young people (35%) were by far the biggest challenges faced.
In the past three years we’ve had many opportunities to support people into work placements and ultimately sustainable employment, through our funded projects including Kickstart, Step Up Glasgow, Step Up to Net Zero and the current Glasgow Paid Work Placements programme with the Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (GCVS).
Through these, we have seen some innovative and inclusive practices, but it is also fair to say others needed some extra support to attract candidates. It’s not surprising that many businesses recruit in small numbers and the job market is changing quicker than ever.
Through the Glasgow Employment and Skills Board (GESB), we have been on a mission to develop an approach that would support employers to specifically engage with the next generation of their workforce. With Gayle Shepherd, Head of People and Digital at the Scottish Event Campus and Deputy Chair of the Board, alongside some funding from Glasgow City Council, and support from a range of members from across the GESB, work has been underway to tease out a solution.
At the heart of our approach have been two fundamental guiding principles, our solution needs to be co-designed with both employers and young people, and it needs to be engaging and easy to use.
Young people have been telling us their thoughts about recruitment and what would work for them, from where they look for jobs and what needs to be included in an advert or job description and what would stop them applying. This culminated in our recent Hackathon. Hosted by JP Morgan in their new Argyle Street offices and supported by volunteers from the Scottish Event Campus, Bellrock Technology, First Bus, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Arnold Clark and the Scottish Qualifications Authority, the event was designed to come up with ideas to develop a new app to support the project.
Almost a hundred young people answered an advert by Young Scot asking for people to come and help, with the promise of the chance to win tickets to an event at the Hydro. However, given how engaged and dynamic the young people were, they were invited to apply for four short term roles, hosted in the Scottish Event Campus, to develop the solutions further.
The outcomes from the day have been eye-opening. Young people want to be able to search for a job that uses simple and clear language, imagery and an example of the day in a life of a job role. They want bright, engaging colours, humour and concise information. If we want to set ourselves apart, we need to rethink our job adverts.
If you interested in hearing more about our project or looking to getting involved, please email dyw@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
