THE biggest employer of apprentices in Scotland has joined a mentoring scheme designed to prevent young people in the care system dropping out of school.

City Building, an arms length agency of Glasgow City Council, will provide guidance and work experience to students aged 12-18 at 15 schools running the Young Glasgow Talent programme.

Staff at the firm, most of whom were once apprentices themselves, have already volunteered to become mentors in the “talent tasters” programme.

There are more than 1,000 looked after young people in Glasgow’s secondary schools.

The most disadvantaged are five times more likely to leave school aged 16 or earlier and more than half end go on to unsustainable destinations, often due to instability in their personal lives.

Young Glasgow Talent, a partnership between charity MCR Pathways and the council, aims to fill the void created by the lack of positive adult role models or access to social networks that can be a barrier to work for many looked after children.

It will eventually be rolled out to all secondary schools in the city.

Iain MacRitchie, social entrepreneur and founder of MCR Pathways welcomed City Building to the scheme.

“The company has excellent training facilities coupled with a wealth of expertise in the industry,” he said.

“This is an excellent opportunity for the young people we support.”

There are 137 Talent Tasters in place and over 250 in planning.

City Building trains and employs workers in disciplines such as construction, electrical, plumbing, joinery, and painting and decorating.

Alan Wade, MCR’s executive director, said: “Too many young people drop out of school by 16 with no real plan of what they are going to do.

“We encourage and support our young people to keep engaged in education and help them find an area of interest, a skill and talent.

“Mentors build confidence to develop the skills and experiences to set the young people on a career pathway.”

Dr Graham Paterson, executive director at City Building, said: “As Scotland’s biggest employer of apprentices, we have a strong track record of supporting young people in the workplace.

“Partnering with MCR Pathways gives us the opportunity to extend our socially inclusive approach and give even more of Glasgow’s young people the chance to flourish by developing construction careers.

“A number of our staff have already volunteered to become mentors and are looking forward to getting involved.

City Building directly employs 2,253 staff, nine out of 10 of whom live in Glasgow, and supports a total of 3,877 jobs across the city.

Can you help a young person realise their full potential and be defined by their talent not their circumstances or postcode?

The Herald and Evening Times are supporting the Young Glasgow Talent campaign by MCR Pathways to recruit mentors and organisations for its schools based mentoring and talent taster programme.

The charity supports disadvantaged young people and especially those in or on the edges of the care system to realise their full potential through education.

Founded in 2007 and developed in one school over five years, the programme now supports over 500 young people aged between 12 to 18 in fifteen Glasgow schools, with a citywide expansion plan and national ambition.

More disadvantaged young Glaswegians are signing up for mentors to help them overcome barriers and inequality to be all they can be. One hour a week and a willingness to put a young person first are all you need. You'll make and experience a life-changing difference in helping a young person to find, grow and use their talents.

MCR Pathways will provide all the training and support you need. For more information or to register, please go to www.youngglasgowtalent.org, email info@mcrpathways.org or call us on 0141 221 6642.