Glasgow City Chambers has hosted an award ceremony to celebrate the achievements of more than 200 Glasgow teenagers who have successfully completed their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with the support of ScottishPower.

A total of 201 young people, aged 16 to 18, were presented with their Bronze DofE Awards with 15 achieving their Silver.

The winners of the first Glasgow Inspiration Awards, which celebrate the commitment of young people and leaders, were also announced.

ScottishPower has sponsored youth charity, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), in the Glasgow area since 2010 and through its funding, the company aims to give young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to participate in the DofE to develop the necessary skills which will help to further enhance their future employability.

Ann Loughrey, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at ScottishPower, said: “At ScottishPower, we are dedicated to helping the next generation develop the required skills to succeed in the future.

“The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is an excellent programme which gives young people the opportunity to develop their leadership, communication and problem solving skills, having a lasting impact on their life chances.

“Since the beginning of our partnership, nearly 600 teenagers in Glasgow who previously would not have had access to participate have completed their DofE Award.

“Last year, 87 young people were presented with their Bronze DofE Awards. This year, more than double that number have achieved similar success and we hope that this number will continue to rise in future with even more taking part and completing the challenge.”

Councillor Stephen Curran, Executive Member for Education and Young People, Glasgow City Council was fortunate to meet the young people at the award ceremony and said: "The Duke of Edinburgh Awards are a fantastic opportunity for Glasgow's young people to learn new skills and increase their chances of finding employment in the current climate.

"I'd like to thank ScottishPower for their continued support of this joint initiative and my hope is that we see even more young people offered the chance to gain either Bronze, Silver or even Gold awards next year.

"Many congratulations to everyone involved in the awards ceremony tonight."

Barry Fisher, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Director for Scotland, added:

“I want to congratulate all the young people that have received their DofE Award, it is a huge accolade and marker of their determination to succeed. The DofE is growing fast in Scotland and that growth is in no small part thanks to the support of ScottishPower.

“In five years we have doubled the number of young people taking part and last year we saw a 30 per cent increase in young people from disadvantaged backgrounds starting their DofE.

“As young people face the toughest jobs market for two decades, the DofE can really help them differentiate themselves and develop the skills employers are looking for. Making the DofE available to more young people is critical.”

For further information on The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, please visit http://www.dofe.org/

Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of ScottishPower.

For more information please contact:
Kay McCarthy on 0141 333 9585 / 07736 774 338 or email kay.mccarthy@bigpartnership.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Winners of the Inspiration Awards:

Most creative expedition project:

Jordanhill School - Andrew Glass, Susannah Houston, Rosie Thompson, Marc Fitchett, Calum Flemming, Kieren Burgess and Angus Lauder

Glasgow Leader of the Year:

• Bellahouston Academy – George Thomson
• Vocational Education – Chris Walsh

Innovation of the Year:

Knightswood Secondary - Jasmine Bell, Samantha Skelly, and Rebecca Barrowman

ScottishPower Recent ScottishPower employment announcements include:

• 300 new engineering and technical jobs as part of a £6bn investment the Group is making to upgrade the electricity network in central and southern Scotland which in total, will create up to 1,500 jobs in the next 8 years;
• A new office complex, which will be located on the corner of St Vincent Street and India Street, in Glasgow and will start construction in 2013 with completion by late 2015. The new building is set to accommodate approximately 1500 ScottishPower people and the project will be the largest single occupier office development in Glasgow for approximately 25

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Employability

Research shows that employers value the DofE when they are recruiting as the most important achievement after academic qualifications, and that the DofE has a significant impact on young people’s employability.

A survey of major employers, commissioned by the United Learning Trust, found that a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is valued more than work experience when selecting employees.

A two year study undertaken by The Centre for Children and Youth at the University of Northampton, researching the impact of the DofE between 2007-2009, found that:

95% of leaders say the DofE develops responsibility and decision-making skills, 93% think that the DofE develops leadership and teamwork skills in young people and 92% of leaders say the DofE develops the ability to stick at tasks.