Developing the Young Workforce Innovative Projects
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Innovative Projects have been developed through the Ayrshire DYW Regional Group to create vocational opportunities, delivered in school, for pupils who may not achieve five qualifications at National 5 level.
Schools across Ayrshire’s three local authorities can apply for funding:
- for capital costs through the Ayrshire DYW Regional Group and
- for PPE, training and consumable costs through the Prince’s Trust Development Fund
Programmes are delivered by either school or college staff. Where the college is involved in the delivery, lecturers deliver a range of vocational qualifications over the academic year as part of the school’s learning pathways. This is normally timetabled for one double period per week from mid-August to the end of April.
Vocational Bursts
A Vocational Burst is a hands-on short programme to introduce S2 or S3 pupils to a range of different vocational areas to help them make informed choices about potential careers. Each ‘Vocational Burst’ programme will last 5 or 6 weeks, depending on the academic calendar, if the ‘Burst’ is a 6 week block the 6th week will usually include a visit to the nearest College campus. Each weekly session will last 2 hours (2 periods) and will be delivered on a Friday morning during periods 1 and 2. Where possible, the sessions will be delivered in school.
In session 2019-20, there will be 6 blocks available for each vocational burst in the areas of Digital, Cooking, Construction Trades and Hair & Beauty, Drama, Fashion, Science, Social Science, Care, Early Education. The first block will begin on Friday 23rd August 2019. It is proposed that each of the three local authority areas will be offered two bursts in each of the vocational areas.