Apprentice Day for Highland Youth Parliament Members

Issued by High Life Highland 

The 12th Highland Youth Parliament Apprentice Day is being held tomorrow Tuesday, 22nd March.

Highland Youth Parliament, the elected Youth Parliament for the Highlands, holds an annual ‘Apprentice Day’, organised by High Life Highland’s Youth Services team, on which members of HYP shadow Senior Managers and Elected Members across public sector services. The aim of the Apprentice Day is for services to gauge young people’s views of their service and for services to become more aware of Highland Youth Parliament. It also provides an opportunity to give young people a better understanding of the services provided for them and how services impact on and consult with young people. Representatives from High Life Highland, The Highland Council, NHS Highland, Police Scotland, Fire and Rescue Service Scotland, the University of the Highlands and Islands and HM Prison Service are getting involved this year.

Officials meet their Apprentices at the start of their day and will be accompanied by the young people in a range of meetings and business activities in and around Inverness. The day will conclude with a more informal discussion reflecting on the day.

Convener of The Highland Council, Isobel McCallum said: "The Council actively encourages young people to get involved in their local communities and put across their views on a wide range of topics. We are currently looking to recruit 16 to 25 year olds from across the Highlands to join our Citizens’ Panel so their views can help shape future policies and how public services are delivered. The Apprentice Day is a great opportunity to find out a bit more, first hand, how the Council works and how the confidence and new skills young people are learning can be transferred into a work situation. I am certainly looking forward to meeting my apprentice and I wish all the young people taking part a successful and productive day.”

Highland Youth Convener, Kat Bateson commented: “Apprentice Day is a fantastic opportunity for young people to gain insight into how services in Highland operate. It also gives the apprentices the opportunity to raise their voice on how services can be better, and can inspire them to follow a career path they may not have considered. I am looking forward to the day and hope that the participants will have a great time – I know I will!”

In total, 20 young people and 17 adults are taking part in the day.