New Finderne apprenticeship scheme for young people

A NEW apprenticeship scheme will encourage young people to remain in the area and give a financial boost to rural firms.

Finderne Development Trust (FDT) has announced plans for a Finderne-based apprenticeships project which will fund a percentage of salary, travel and training costs to help businesses expand their workforces.

FDT chairman, Chris Piper, explained Finderne has more older households than the Scottish average.

He said: "We have more families with no children and fewer single-person households than the Scottish average of any age. The out-migration of our young people presents a real challenge to our rural community and during our community consultation in 2018 it was identified as an area of priority for the trust to help address. By working in partnership with Finderne-based businesses to create opportunities and cultivate the skills required for business growth, we can grow the rural economy and enable more young people to remain in the area to train, work and develop careers."

Development manager, Pery Zakeri, added: "This project has great potential to bring about long lasting change to Finderne. If we can enable a major shift in the population profile, we can build a vibrant, sustainable and balanced community. We have already been approached by businesses working in timber, horticulture and tourism who have welcomed the project for breaking down obstacles which may have prevented them from being able to upskill their employees and create new positions."

The trust will work in partnership with Skills Development Scotland to deliver an apprenticeship and Skills for Growth workshop. This will provide a step-by-step guide to apprenticeships and skills development, from finding the right training provider to recruitment and beyond.

Employment engagement advisor at Skills Development Scotland, Roddy Innes, said: "Apprenticeships are designed by employers to help invest in young talent or upskill current employees and are proven to help improve productivity. For businesses looking to identify their skills needs first, we also offer Skills for Growth, providing up to two days fully-funded business consultancy, resulting in a detailed people plan and guidance to the right support."

Rural-based apprenticeships is the first in a series of projects that the trust set out to deliver during the launch of its first five-year strategic plan in late May 2019, which includes the provision of fast broadband and affordable housing.

Having been guaranteed community benefit funding from the Logie Wind Farm, the Trust is focused on delivering legacy benefits to Finderne. FDT is granted £138,000 per year from Hill of Glaschyle Renewables LLP - the developer of Logie Wind Farm - to provide funding to help underpin the Trust’s activities over the next 25 years.

Businesses based in Finderne are invited to attend the workshop, being delivered on Monday, February 24 at The Long Room, Logie Steading, from 10-11.30am.

For more information and to register for a place contact the Trust on hello@findernedevelopmenttrust.com or call 01309 221 026. Further details about the Finderne Development Trust are available at www.finderndevelopmenttrust.com.