Employability

A key area of focus for CYP is helping local young people (aged 16-29) to gain access to employment and training opportunities. We are able to offer some such opportunities in-house, thanks to our two social enterprises based in Callander (Hostel and Functions). You can find out here if we have any current job vacancies.

Beyond this, we can offer a variety of individualised support – helping to write CVs, complete applications or prepare for interviews. If you think that this could be of use to you, please get in touch and let us know how we can help.

Our Programme

At the moment, the majority of our employability support falls under a single project. This is called CYP Employability (formerly 'Steps to Work') and our primary funders are the Building Brighter Futures Fund and the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund (managed by Stirling Council). Their support allows us to work with many young people from within the local community, in addition to weekly sessions with pupils from McLaren High School.

To better support the young people we work with, we offer 1-1 and small group sessions tailored to each individual’s specific needs and circumstances. This can range from volunteering or work placements, to targeted training programmes and a variety of accreditation opportunities. We also work to source industry-standard qualifications that can help boost an individual’s CV – this has included Food Safety certificates (Hospitality), SFA Coaching Awards (Football), First Aid certification and Higher English courses at local colleges.

Thanks to the facilities we have available at CYP, we have schemes focused on gardening, cooking and more general hospitality skills. However, we always work to make sure that we can offer something of interest to each individual young person. Wherever possible, we look to recognise an individual's progress and achievements. This can range from schemes such as the Dynamic Youth or Saltire Awards, to SQA units or vocational certifications. 

If you are interested in finding out more about how any of the above support may be of use to you, please get in touch and arrange to speak with a member of our youth team.

Social Enterprises

Since 2012, CYP have been creating local employment opportunities through our social enterprises. We currently operate a popular hostel as well as hosting a wide variety of functions (parties, meetings and many other events).

The majority of our staff are young people from the local area – for many, this is their first job. As well as gaining valuable work experience, they also benefit from a variety of different training opportunities. Many are employed as Hospitality Apprentices, meaning that they complete an SVQ in Hospitality whilst working with us. As an accredited SQA centre, this is something that we deliver in-house. Currently, we also work with SCVO and Stirling Council to offer supported job roles to young people who may require a little more help to build their confidence and get used to the world of work.

Any current vacancies that we have will be listed here.

Callander Landscape Partnership

As part of the Callander Landscape Partnership, CYP helped to deliver a multi-year ‘Heritage Skills’ programme. This was established to empower local young people to gain experience within the hospitality, outdoor tourism and conservation sectors. In total, this project saw 7 young people successfully complete their Modern Apprenticeships – some in Hospitality and some in Rural Skills.

Our Hospitality MA’s split their time between gaining hospitality experience (within our social enterprises) and working towards outdoor qualifications. This included Outdoor First Aid, Mountain Bike Leader training, Hill/Navigation skills, Archery and Canoeing/Rescue qualifications. On the Callander’s Landscape website, you can find out more about Hugh and Jack’s experiences of this programme.

Our Rural Skills MA's worked closely with a range of local and national partners. Thanks to funding from Historic Environment Scotland, these MA’s also worked towards a Level 2 award in Cultural Heritage and successfully completed a course at Canal College. Projects included archaeological excavations, natural conservation projects, community volunteer events and an oral history project. Callander’s Landscape spoke to our Rural Skills MA’s about their experiences with the archaeology part of their work – you can find this here.