Sandy Begbie CBE, Global Integration Director at Standard Life Aberdeen plc and Chair of DYW EdinMidEast, champions DYW and the contribution of youth awards to equipping young people with key skills for the workplace.
In an interview filmed for the Awards Network, Sandy highlights the role of teachers and youth workers in helping prepare young people for the world of work. He calls on schools and employers to work more closely together and in particular to recognise the importance of non-academic skills and experiences such as those provided through youth awards. Such key skills are identified as including confidence, communications, teamwork, working with other people, interpersonal and customer skills.
From recruitment experience Sandy says that young people who have been through such non-academic experiences “clearly come to the fore” and suggests that employers, teachers and youth workers could do more to encourage young people to recognise the value of such experiences.
More stakeholder views on the value and impact of youth awards can be found on the Awards Network’s YouTube channel
