A consortium of employers, education providers and business associations has this week been awarded £450,000 by the Scottish Government to get more young Borderers into work.
Anthony Barlow, managing director of business growth specialists EBS Europe Ltd of Cavalry Park, was among company bosses at an event in Galashiels on Wednesday when the three-year financial boost was announced by Scottish employment and training minister Jamie Hepburn.
The award has gone to the Borders Developing the Young Workforce Industry Group (DYWIG) board representing around 15 key employers in the region as well as senior officers from Borders College, Skills Development Scotland and the Borders Chamber of Commerce.
In the days ahead the board will appoint three full-time staff to liaise with employers, schools and colleges to deliver programmes aimed at removing inequalities in the Borders job market, addressing skill shortages and cutting youth unemployment.
These goals are explicit in the recommendations of the independent “Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce”, set up by the Scottish Government which last year allocated £16m to support packages of action across Scotland.
The commission found that, while most young people move on to positive destinations after leaving education, some – including many girls, those with low educational attainment, the disabled, black and ethnic minorities and looked after children leaving care – are particularly disadvantaged.
On Wednesday, Mr Hepburn noted that the successful Borders bid – coordinated on behalf of the DYWIG by Heather Ross of the Scottish Borders Business Forum – had been prepared on an entirely voluntary basis.
And he stressed that employers in the region were central to the success of the initiative by putting the recruitment of young people at the heart of their approach to workforce planning.
Earlier, the minister heard a presentation on the mutual benefits of modern apprenticeships from young engineer Scott Robertson (Mainetti of Jedburgh) and his boss Jim Hutchison.
And the positive outcome from a young person’s perspective was eloquently expressed by Stacie Carruthers who is now financial controller with Hawick engineering firm Turnbull & Scott. 
Other employers represented on the DYWIG board are Plexus of Kelso, Buccleuch Estates, Johnstons of Elgin (Hawick), BSW Timber of Earlston, Spark Energy of Selkirk, Qube GB of Galashiels, Camerons Architects also of Galashiels, Soconnect of Newtown and NHS Borders.
After the event, Ms Ross said: “This funding is so important to improve the job prospects for more diverse groups of young people in the Borders and ensure companies have the right skills base to be sustainable and create quality products and services.”