RSS Press releases
We publish all of our recent press releases online so you can keep up to date.
You can use special RSS software (or newer web browsers) to subscribe to an RSS feed of our recent press releases . Email pressenquiry@dumgal.gov.uk if you'd like further details on any of our press releases.
If you want to speak to a communications officer, you can find their working-hours telephone numbers and what areas of the council they cover at www.dumgal.gov.uk/pressenquiry.
Read our press releases as HTML >>
Recent releases
Through our work with our stakeholders with Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) and the Job Centre, Dumfries and Galloway Council were able to run the ‘Me 2 U’ Project within schools in Upper Nithsdale over the last few months.
Sanquhar Academy, Sanquhar Primary School and Kelloholm Primary School took part in the project. All three schools put forward work-experience placements for the scheme, ranging from facilities assistants to learning assistants, office admin assistants and catering assistants. Employer Advisors from DWP were supported by our Employability and Adult Lifelong Learning teams, as well as Fedcap (Fair Start Scotland), to get the word out to potential candidates across all of our services.
DWP supported the schools to interview for the scheme and six candidates started the programme earlier this year.
The programme ran Monday to Thursday over an 8-week period. Monday and Wednesday were spent on classroom-based work with another one of our key partners, Dumfries and Galloway College, who delivered an accredited Workplace Skills Award. The candidates were then on placement on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, working with an assigned mentor from within their allocated school.
The scheme culminated with a celebration event within Sanquhar Academy on Friday 13 March.
Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Skills, Education & Learning Chair, Cllr Richard Brodie commented:
“The benefits of this scheme are wide-ranging and it has had an even greater impact than we could ever have imagined. Four of the six candidates are moving into paid work. One further candidate is taking up a two-day per week volunteering post in the school. The other candidate has a disability and is now receiving additional support via the Council’s Employability team, working towards further accreditations and getting help to gain a driving licence. I’d like to say well done to all of the candidates for their hard work over the 8-week period and also commend our partners in this project for making it the success it’s been.”
Vice Chair, Cllr Maureen Johnstone said:
“All of the candidates have learned new skills, benefitted from confidence building and peer support, and some have even given feedback to say that it has completely broken the social isolation that they had previously felt. The scheme was so successful that D&G College and some of our schools in Stranraer became aware of the impact and we are now working with the same group of stakeholders in order to start the next cohort of customers in Stranraer Schools in early May.”
Craig Hope, Employer and Partnership Manager with DWP added:
“The Me2U programme has been in the pipeline for Dumfries and Galloway since 2019, mirroring the extremely successful model that has already been applied for a number of years by our Job Centre colleagues in East Ayrshire. I’m delighted that we’ve now finally been able to deliver the first incarnation of it, in particular because it has had such life-changing impacts on the participants involved. This has once again shown how strong partnership working in Dumfries and Galloway is within employability.”
