Youth charity staffing slashed after funding cut

Staff at a charity which delivers enterprise education to young people have been made redundant after the organisation failed to secure funding from the Scottish government.

Young Enterprise (YE) Scotland said 17 members of staff have been made redundant but emergency funding will allow the organisation to avoid closure.

The charity has delivered enterprise education for over 30 years with funding from the Scottish government, trusts and foundations.

Chief executive Emma Soanes said though the charity had been saved from closure, that will be little consolation to staff who lost their jobs weeks before Christmas.

She said: “It is a huge relief that we have been able to avoid a complete closure of Young Enterprise Scotland and we are grateful to the Scottish government for providing us with emergency funding which prevented our worst case scenario becoming reality.

“Losing our major income source has been an enormously unsettling and upsetting time for everyone involved, and while we try to remain positive there is no doubt there will be challenging times ahead as we refocus and prioritise what programmes we deliver within schools and colleges on such a reduced staff model.”

In July, the charity was told the existing grant process would cease and be replaced with a new competitive process which would award seven organisations with a share of £829,346.

The charity was unsuccessful in their funding application but was granted emergency funding of £285,000 to cover existing costs for this financial year.

The charity said the Scottish government grant was significantly delayed in the financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024.

In the latest financial year, the delay resulted in the late submission of the charity's audited accounts, directly impacting its ability to apply for additional funding.

Last year, YE Scotland supported over 18,000 school and college students through its enterprise programmes.

In the past three years, more than 1,000 students have gained a YE Scotland enterprise qualification at SCQF Level 6 to prepare them for work and further education.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "This will obviously be a concerning time for all employees impacted and their families.

"The Scottish Government has engaged with Young Enterprise Scotland to try to mitigate the impact of their financial situation, including awarding £285,000 towards the two previously funded projects to ensure the organisation's continued viability."