 The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 3, 9, 8, 4, in the name of Adam Tomkins, on community jobs at Scotland. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would ask those who wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak buttons now. I call on Adam Tomkins to open the debate around 7 minutes, please, Mr Tomkins. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. This is an apt week to be debating an aspect of policy relating to jobs, employment and skills. For this, of course, is Scottish Apprenticeship week. On Monday, as many MSPs across the chamber have done during the course of this week, I visited a local employer not far from where I live in Glasgow and met with a number of apprentices who started their careers there with help from Skills Development Scotland. For employers such as the one I visited, the little me nursery in Annie's land, apprenticeships are an invaluable source of recruitment and the hands-on skills and career development that an apprenticeship offers is an ideal way for many young people to manage the transition from school to work. In that context, I am delighted to bring to the chamber this afternoon my motion not merely recognising but celebrating the continued success of the Community Jobs Scotland Employability programme run by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. I would like to thank members from right across the political spectrum who have supported today's motion and all those who will take part in this afternoon's debate. None of this would have happened without the SCVO. I am delighted that Craig Wilson and others from SCVO are in the public gallery or on their way to being in the public gallery, I hope, this afternoon. They have brought with them several young men and women who have benefited from and taken part in Community Jobs Scotland, with organisations such as Move On, North Edinburgh Arts, the Bethany Christian Trust, Leap Sports Scotland and LAMH. We will gather, or we will hope to gather, at the foot of the garden lobby steps after this debate. I would like to invite all members here from across the chamber to join me in meeting these young men and women. I understand that photo opportunities will be available. Community Jobs Scotland is an employability programme designed and delivered by SCVO. It was started in 2011 when levels of youth unemployment were much higher than they are now. It has seen job creation by third sector organisations across all 32 of Scotland's local authority areas, and it has now helped some 7,500 young men and women right across the country. Supported, I am pleased to say, by the Scottish Government, its latest phase is targeted at young people who are furthest removed from the labour market, including carers, people with disabilities, young people leaving the armed forces and young offenders. It is a competitive process requiring a full application and regular interview. Every CJS position benefits not only the individual but also the community. CJS has allowed overstretched charities to build capacity and to provide improved services, whilst offering disadvantaged young people the chance to gain skills, experience, confidence and, of course, a wage—at least the minimum wage and where possible, the living wage. In addition, every CJS employee has access to a £200 flexible training fund. CJS has an impressive track record of success. The most recent data shows that just under half of the young people using CJS moved into employment and that 61 per cent of people using CJS had positive outcomes in terms of jobs volunteering or further education. Given that the programme is focused on people who are hardest to reach, people that some other employability programmes do not reach at all, those are impressive numbers. Behind the numbers, Presiding Officer, are real human beings. Let me share with you two stories from my own city, Glasgow, that illustrate the great work that Community Jobs Scotland undertakes. In Govan, just across the river from where I live, a gang of seven young men with a history of offending ran amok terrorising the community. All the familiar ingredients were there—drugs, violence, vandalism and antisocial behaviour. The housing association stepped in, as local housing associations so often do. After a period of working with the members of the gang, the chief executive of Govan Housing Association approached CJS to establish paid jobs for the young men. As a result, they have now learnt skills in landscaping, paving and brickwork. Housing stock has been repaired and has maintained. Then there is the story of Ryan Brown, the 7,500th person to be helped by Community Jobs Scotland. Ryan is here today. Born in the mid-1990s, he grew up amid family breakdown, the tragedy of a baby brother's cot death, drug and alcohol addiction and domestic abuse. He was taken into care, but he developed alcohol dependency and gang violence problems of his own. He was convicted and he spent some time in prison. He suffered a number of family bereavements, but he was helped by CJS, working with Move On's Housing Education Service, where he is responsible for working alongside volunteers in education, providing advice and information on housing, life skills, employability and homelessness. Ryan has now secured his first ever tenancy and is in a stable relationship. Thanks to CJS, he has a bright future ahead of him. Those stories and so many more like them underscore two truths that Conservatives have prioritised in developing policy. First, that for those who can, work represents the best route out of poverty. The best route out of poverty, but also the best route out of the chaotic lifestyle of drug and alcohol addiction, violence and antisocial behaviour. That is why it is so important that there are more jobs in the British economy than ever before, more women in employment in Britain than ever before and record numbers of disabled people in work in Britain today. The second truth is that unless we address the underlying problems of addiction, family breakdown, disorder and educational under attainment, we will never break the cycle of multiple deprivation. Robustly confronting and beating those problems requires much more than warm words, Presiding Officer. It requires bold action, early intervention, transformational investment and, of course, very close working between government, the private sector and voluntary organisations such as the SCVO. Across this chamber, every single member of the Scottish Parliament is concerned about tackling poverty and deprivation and getting people away from crime and into work. We have our differences, of course, in terms of priorities, and I have my list of complaints about the SNP's record, as I know that the minister in his backbenchers will have their list of complaints about the Conservatives. I have brought this debate to the Parliament this afternoon in the hope that this is not the occasion for a rehearsal of such party political arguments and may instead be a moment where we can come together, united in our admiration for the work of the SCVO and in our celebration of the continued and on-going success of Community Jobs Scotland. We move to the open debate, where a wee bit pushed for time, so I could ask everyone to be disciplined to the four minutes maximum. I call Kenny Gibson to be followed by Dean Lockhart. First of all, I would like to thank Adam Tomkins for lodging this motion and securing today's debate on the development of such an important programme and the Scottish Council of Volunteer Organisations, Craig Wilson, for his comprehensive briefing. There is much to celebrate regarding the success of the Community Jobs Scotland employability programme in national apprenticeship week. Aimed at helping unemployed and vulnerable young people aged 16 to 29 into paid job training opportunities, this programme has recently reached a milestone of its seven and a half thousandth created job. First established in 2011 in response to the high levels of youth unemployment, the Scottish Council of Volunteer Organisations run programme created 1,861 paid jobs for young people in its first year alone. By 2016, the number had risen to 7,049 paid jobs. Indeed, success rates are unmistakable, with a reported 52 per cent of those participants being retained by their employer after the end of their initial job, and a further 62 per cent achieving positive outcomes into jobs volunteering or education. Through its competitive application and interview process, Community Jobs Scotland prides itself in laying the groundwork for the sense of belonging teamwork conducive to young people's successful integration into a real work environment. Funding of £6.1 million for phase 6 of the programme, which is currently under way, was announced by the First Minister on 16 February 2016. The extension of the already successful initiative aimed to support a further 700 job opportunities for vulnerable young people through a range of third sector organisations across all 32 local authorities. In North Ayrshire, more than half of which consist of my own county of North constituency, 330 jobs have been created, and those young people work for 38 different employers. By including opportunities specifically focused on developing the Young Workforce Scotland's youth unemployment strategy recommendations to support young people who are deemed hardest to reach, the programme now contributes to efforts initiated by the commission for developing Scotland's Young Workforce to create a world-class vocational education system capable of reducing youth unemployment by 40 per cent by 2021. Those opportunities include those aimed at the care that is experienced by young people with criminal convictions, early service leavers such as armed forces and carers with 100 ring fence places for those with a disability or long-term health condition, and a further 100 for young people progressing from a pilot of pre-CAGS work experience opportunities and continuation of the living wage. The figures that I mentioned outline the overall success of the programme, which is also rewarding to look at the personal accounts of those that are directly benefited, and one commendable such individual whom we have heard much about already is Ryan Brown from Glasgow. Adam Tomkins talked a lot about Ryan's background. Ryan made the impressive seven and a half thousandth job created and is taking on the role of trainee development worker with move on for an initial period of one year. The 20-year-old was recently invited to Holyrood and commemorated as the seven and a half thousandth CGS employee. He remarked after making his decision to choose a new lifestyle that this programme has allowed him to put the past behind him and he is now confident that a really bright future lies ahead. The programme has assisted him not only in the realm of work but also in terms of personal relationships and domestic life, and he is now in a civil relationship and has recently secured his first tenancy. In many cases, a permanent job creates a sense of security in the lives of young people that may have previously been absent in Ryan's but one of the thousands of success stories produced by this remarkable programme, and it is certain that he will not be the last. It is quite a remark made by SCVO chief executive Martin Simon in 2012, investing in young people through the third sector works that works for the young people who go on to find sustainable full-time jobs and for the sector whose capacity to deliver is being stretched like never before. Six years since the programme's inception, I am sure that you will agree that those words, much like the project itself, have stood the test of time. Of course, as we celebrate this milestone, we acknowledge that there is always more to be done and more people to be helped. It is therefore vital that we maintain the support that the CGS offers to reach out to vulnerable young people across Scotland who perhaps have been overlooked in the past but who wish to play an active and recognised part in Scottish society as they deserve to do. I look forward to welcoming the continued success that the future phases of community jobs Scotland employability programme will doubly bring, thereby granting a bright professional future to as many hard-to-reach Scottish young people as possible. I call Dean Lockhart to be followed by Pauline McNeill. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Let me first congratulate my friend and colleague Adam Tomkins for bringing this important debate to the chamber and for highlighting the many achievements of the community jobs Scotland programme. I would also like to commend everyone involved with the programme, including the SCVO, for their hard work, which has made it a success and has had a very positive impact on the lives of the many young people across Scotland. I also welcome those in the public gallery who have benefited from this programme and, indeed, who have helped to make it a success. Since its inception in 2011, the programme has created jobs in all 32 local authorities in Scotland, including in my own region, Stirling. In the Stirling area, the programme has created almost 150 jobs, ranging from jobs in sectors as diverse as conservation, hospitality and the Scottish Gymnastics Association. In particular, the programme has reached into disadvantaged areas in Stirling through collaboration with bodies such as Raplock Community Enterprise in the Stirling area. Raplock Community Enterprise has become recognised as a quality training and learning company, and with the help of this programme has expanded rapidly since its creation less than 10 years ago. This successful impact of the programme in Stirling is reflected across Scotland. The programme was initially established, as we have heard, to address youth unemployment. As we have heard, the programme has now created more than 7,500 jobs in Scotland. The level of job creation in itself is very welcome, but the programme goes further. It also provides jobs for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people who often find themselves furthest away from the jobs market and provides the opportunity for those young people to acquire skills and training that they can carry forward into the world of work. That is a unique part of the programme that I believe is the ability to reach young people furthest from the market. I would like to highlight some specific examples of where the CGS helps young people who are furthest away from the market. For example, young people with disabilities or poor health, young people with convictions or care experience backgrounds, early service leavers from the armed forces, young people from ethnic minorities, in many cases it gives young people a second chance. The CGS also serves to clearly illustrate that vulnerable young people can and do bring valuable skills to the workforce and the economy. They can become role models by showing that barriers can be overcome and that long-term and sustainable employment or other positive outcomes are successful. As we have heard, the total positive outcomes from the programme, including jobs, volunteering and going on to further education, is over 60 per cent, which is a very positive outcome and a very positive performance. In addition to the positive outcomes on jobs and developing the employability of young people who might not otherwise achieve sustainable employment, the programme is further evidence of the efficacy of the prevention agenda as outlined by the Christie commission. Targeting those who we know face barriers to a successful future, ignoring those challenges is not an option and virtually guarantees that vulnerable and disadvantaged groups will face in the future poverty, inequality and poor health, by proactively helping people who face challenges into work and by furnishing them with the skills, confidence and experience, we can improve their life chances, reduce the need for costly state intervention later on and, crucially, they can be optimistic about their future. I think that the programme has demonstrated that very clearly. The programme is also unique in the sense that it offers only jobs within Scotland's dynamic third sector and roles that demonstrate a community benefit. That allows Scotland's charities to increase capacity and also help communities and unemployed and vulnerable young people. I once again thank Adam Tomkins for bringing the issue and debate to the chamber, and I congratulate everyone involved in the successful programme. I congratulate everyone involved in the successful programme. Presiding Officer, first I thank Adam Tomkins for leading the debate on community jobs, which we have heard is a programme designed and delivered by SCVO to help to bring down new unemployment aimed at people furthest from the labour market. I apologise to the Presiding Officer and to the member that I am unable to stay to hear the minister's response during another meeting, but I want to make a contribution in what is a subject area that should preoccupy this Parliament. Speaking up for those who have had the most difficulties in life and who want to make it in the world of work to get a better life for themselves, that is why most of us came into politics. The programme that we are discussing today is one of the best examples of a programme that has made a real difference. It shows how important the third sector is being critical partners for Government in providing support for vulnerable people. As many members have said in the past, I think that recognition is due to the work of the third sector. It is probably a very difficult time for people in work who need a step up. It seems to me that providing a real working environment with a competitive application system is essential in order to prepare people for the real word of work, and that includes applying for their jobs as well. We have heard many important stories. Adam Tomkins talks, and I have read about the story of Ryan. He has not had an easy life that many people need a second chance in their life. They just need a step up because they have the motivation and the talent to get on, and that is all that they simply need. However, there are two groups in particular that have benefited from the programme, people with disability and those with care experience. 34 per cent of care leavers were not in education or training when they were 19 years old. It is very worrying that they have already lost out when they have reached the age of 19. I only ice as that said in her advice to the Scottish Government on tackling poverty. It was clear that the age group of 16 to 24 is a key time in a person's life that can determine so much of their future and that there should be a focus on it. One of the key aspects of the community job programme is that it gives them experience, it gives them confidence but, importantly, it gives them a wage. Phase 6 of the programme is only open to vulnerable people with disabilities, young people with convictions and homeless people. One million people in Scotland have a disability, that is one in five. We are not going to improve those figures unless there is help such as this provided by community jobs. We know from previous debates that it should be a real focus for the Government as half of young disabled people of working age are out of work. Disabled people are more than twice as likely not to have qualifications. According to Inclusion Scotland, they also say that it is significantly more likely that they are significantly more likely to experience unfair treatment at work. A scheme such as this that lets them gain experience in an environment that is set up to help them succeed will make a life-changing difference to many people who have a disability. I am delighted to support the debate today and I am delighted to support the work of SCVO in their community jobs programme. I call Tavish Scott to be followed by Clare Hockie. After the political knockabout of an hour ago, I am grateful to Mr Tomkins for bringing some sane and more dignified debate to the chamber for this brief member's debate, which is useful because it gives many of us, Mr Gibson, illustrated this, the chance to say something positive about a community project or something that is happening in our respective areas. I want to thank Adam Tomkins for doing that because he gives me the chance to talk about the Shetland community bike project, which absolutely depends on community jobs Scotland for the subsidy that is available to help with the paid placements. It would not exist were that scheme that community jobs Scotland run not to be there. For that, I would like to say thank you to all those who have been through it. The placements that I have seen in that particular project, and I should say self-evidently that the bike project actually survives because it depends on all of us in Shetland who have outgrown our bikes or whose children have outgrown our bikes to make donations of the bikes to this project. They are then taken by the team who work there and, I suppose, for want of a better word, regenerated into something that the retail trade will then accept again. It is a classic bit of recycling, but it happens because of community jobs Scotland. It helps people who have mental health issues, who have possibly a criminal conviction, who are struggling with disabilities, who have no work experience and who are also a long-term unemployed. As the brilliant Caroline Adamson, who runs it, told me the other day that the outcomes—I know that we are beloved of the word outcomes in the world of Parliament these days, but I would rather put it like this—that people are better for it because of that work. They come out of the programme substance-free. There is a reduced risk of reoffending. They stay off benefits and pay taxes, and they have improved confidence and self-esteem, which, in my humble opinion, might be one of the most profound improvements that can be made in people's lives, where that is so necessary. This is a programme that matters. It provides, in this particular incident, a training fund of up to £200 per trainee, which allows the Shetland bike project to provide valuable training to the individual. It gets people back into work. It gets people into areas that they want to be in. It, in that sense, is a vital part of the infrastructure in Shetland to help those who are less fortunate than the rest of us. That is why Community Jobs Scotland should be applauded for all the work that they do in this area. Adam Tomkins gave a much wider perspective than I am going to for that, and indeed so should the SCVO for their work in this area. It schemes like the Shetland community bike project that makes me proud to be a constituency representative because they make a difference to people that I cannot dream of helping and they do it in a very real way. Clare Haughey, followed by Bill Bowman. I also add my thanks to Adam Tomkins for bringing this motion to Parliament and this debate. I am glad that we are seeing a glimmer of cross-party agreement here, that the Scottish Government is right to proactively intervene to help marginalised and disadvantaged groups trying to enter the workplace. The Scottish Government recognises that some in our society have very specific needs and that many people need support to help them to transition out of unemployment. The Scottish Council on Voluntary Services, working with the Scottish Government, has pioneered Community Jobs Scotland. The programme aims to help vulnerable young people into paid job training opportunities in the third sector. As a mental health nurse, I am pleased to read stories like that from the East New Recovery Group in Fife. It provides support for people with mental health and substance abuse issues and has been involved in the Community Jobs Scotland project. Because of their Community Jobs Scotland employees, their drop-in centre has been able to open an extra two days a week and they have been able to extend their free soup service over the week. Four more people each week have been able to benefit from outreach and housing support services than would otherwise have been possible because of Community Jobs Scotland. Fern, one of the CGS employees, now hopes to work in mental health and I wish her all the very best in an extremely rewarding and worthwhile career. Fern's success is repeated across the programme with the most recent figures available showing a positive outcome rate of 69 per cent with over half of people moving into employment. In South Lanarkshire, 370 jobs have been created in the CGS programmes with a 55 per cent rate of positive outcomes. That shows us that if you invest in people and work with them to help them build a career, you can change lives. Let's contrast the positive, progressive, compassionate and, moreover, highly successful project with the DWP's approach. The director of employment services at SCVO in 2014 said that Community Jobs Scotland stands in stark contrast to the failing DWP work programme, which is only getting 18 per cent of people into a job and that she was appalled that the Westminster Government extended the DWP's failing work programme. At the DWP, cases are handled not by a compassionate and committed body like the SCVO, they are instead handled by companies like Atos. Their aims are not to help people like Fern and the 370 people in South Lanarkshire get into the workplace and turn their lives around, but purely to process numbers on a screen. For the DWP, people are there to claim and be moved on, if they can be prevented from claiming more the better. I know that the Conservatives do not like to talk about it, but the DWP has caused untold stress and worry to people the length and breadth of this country. It has been reported this week in third force news that questions such as why have you not killed yourself yet have routinely been asked by people who have mental health issues by staff working on behalf of the DWP. I would ask everyone here to reflect on the differences that that approach and the one that Community Jobs Scotland takes. All people looking for work need support. I am so proud that the Government's work to help those who are most in need of help establish themselves in the job market with a CV and real job prospects. Just imagine what we could do if this Government also had control over the DWP in Scotland. We could extend the successful solutions that even the Scottish Tories acknowledge to everyone who needs help finding a job. I want to see a benefit system that looks after people when they need it but also supports them to get back on their feet when they are ready. In Scotland, we have proved that with the right support, most people can get back into work and build a career and their old self-confidence. I am glad that the Scottish Tories have perhaps inadvertently recognised that and perhaps they can tell their Westminster colleagues to devolve the DWP so that we can help all of Scotland's unemployed people to kick-start their careers. Daniel Johnson Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I will continue on the earlier consensual approach. I am pleased to be able to participate in this afternoon's debate, and I want to thank my colleague Adam Tomkins for securing it. At the outset, I want to commend the Community Jobs Security Employability programme and highlight their success in the north-east, where there was a 61.6 per cent positive outcome rate for those who took part. That is a particularly pertinent topic for debate this week, given that it is Scottish apprenticeship week. I know that colleagues from across the chamber either have already or will be visiting employers and speaking with staff and apprentices to hear more about the positive differences that such opportunities can make to our young people and their career paths. On Monday, I visited an employer in Dundee who has been taking on apprentices for the past six years, including some vulnerable young people. During that visit, we spoke about the importance of making sure that, in such a competitive employment market as the one that exists today, our young people are as ready as they can be to enter the workforce. Initiatives such as Community Jobs Scotland and the apprenticeship employers, such as the ones that I visited, have a role to play in assisting with that. For example, as part of their apprenticeship, the young people that I spoke to were given advice on putting together a CV, filling out an application form and familiarising themselves with the various tests that are a common feature of the application process nowadays. What I found particularly interesting were involved in mock interviews, so that they know how to present themselves and what to expect when they walk into a live job interview. Although the practical experience of working in a company will stand these young people in good stead, I believe that those helpful skills will be even more important when it comes to looking for employment at the end of their apprenticeship. According to the February 2017 labour market statistics, Scotland's unemployment rate among 18 to 24-year-olds was 11.5 per cent, which is 11.5 per cent too many. While those figures represent a decrease when compared to the previous year statistics, it is clear that more still needs to be done to engage with those young people in Scotland who are that bit harder to reach, as we heard earlier, but who would benefit enormously from such an opportunity as those offered by the Community Jobs Scotland employability programme. That is why I support the announcement last month that the funding has been made available for phase 6 of the programme, which has stated in the motion, will support the creation of up to 700 job trading opportunities, including opportunities specifically designed to support young people in our care system, those with criminal convictions, carers and military early service leavers. I am also pleased that there will be 100 ringfence places for those who have a disability or long-term health condition. To conclude, every young person in our country deserves the chance to succeed and reach their full potential. Anything that we in this chamber can do together to support them and nurture their talent, we should. Daniel Johnson, followed by Rachel Hamilton. Let me add my thanks to Adam Tomkins for bringing this debate forward. It is important that we celebrate the fantastic scheme that SCVO is responsible for. It is a fantastic opportunity to talk about what we need to do in terms of boosting employment and employability. It is also a huge pleasure for me because I was the sponsor of the reception held by SCVO, where Ryan Brown received his award as the 7,500th CJS employee. That was a huge pleasure for me. It was also a huge pleasure to be complimented, and what I said that day, I was mainly complimented for speaking for less than a minute. I know that members across the chamber would hope that I would just take that hint, but the main reason that it was a good thing that I spoke for less than a minute that day was so that we could hear the story from Ryan, because it is only by hearing those stories that we really understand the true frustrations and difficulties that so many people have in terms of finding employment. Ryan's story was known as the truth. I do not want to embarrass him, but I can see him up in the gallery. Colleagues across the chamber have already put the facts, but it was the emotions in that story. I think that we could all feel the frustrations that he felt growing up in a loving family, but one blighted by addiction, both in drugs and alcohol, and the true tragedy. I mean, it was a sad story. I do not think that there was a dry eye in the house when we heard about the death that Ryan encountered. We could feel, because of that tragedy and those frustrations, why that cycle could so easily have just repeated, that it could have gone on. We could see why it was such a huge benefit that Community Jobs Scotland existed that was able to hold out that hand of help to Ryan. Finally, the emotion of pride. We could all see the pride that Ryan had, because he secured his first tendency. It was an unstable relationship. For me, it was the pride that he felt for being the role model to his younger brother. I think that that is what we all need, those role models, to see how to take those opportunities in life. If you do not have those role models, you do not have that assistance, how can we expect things to be different? That is why this scheme is so important. The barriers to employment are not simply about just having the ability to take a job. People need that help, they need that act of assistance, and that is what this scheme does. It is about supporting work, reaching out to those who are far from the job market. Ultimately, work is the most important and precious thing that we can ensure that people have in society, because it is work that provides opportunity. It is work that breaks poverty. It is work that breaks that cycle of despair that blights so many of our communities. Dean Lockhart did an excellent job on explaining so many of those things in the different groups that can get help through schemes such as this. It is fantastic that we are here to celebrate community jobs Scotland. As part from anything else, because it represents a truly successful partnership between Government and the third sector. Again, I do not want any members on the SNP benches to fall off their chairs, but this is an example of something where we should celebrate what the Scottish Government has done. It is partnerships such as this, which can make a difference. I congratulate the Scottish Government on investing £50 million in community jobs Scotland, because it is exactly the sort of thing that we need to do to break the cycle of poverty and frustration that occurs in too many communities. It is exactly those sorts of things in Apprentice week that we should be looking at. We should be looking at ways in which we can partner with the third sector and form partnerships between Government and the third sector organisations to look at how we can boost opportunity, increase employment and ultimately improve the opportunity for everyone in our communities. The last of the open speakers is Rachael Hamilton. I welcome this member's debate put forward by my friend and colleague Adam Tomkins on the important topic of community jobs Scotland. I also welcome everyone involved who joins us today. As the motion rightly points out, community jobs Scotland is not a training programme but provides a paid job for young people in the third sector with targeted efforts to help hard-to-reach and vulnerable young people into employment. That is an important distinction to make, for it offers paid work for those who want to get up and go, get involved, get to work and contribute. Community jobs Scotland provides that opportunity to those who may well struggle to find it otherwise. However, that is not a handout. There is a competitive application process and an interview before any offer is made. That places much value on the job, a sense of ownership of the role and pride. It also gives a taste of the real work environment and provides valuable experience of the recruitment process. As an employer myself, I understand the significance of that. The programme has been a success and since 2011 it has created paid jobs for just over 7,000 young people and a total of 68 per cent of positive outcomes into jobs in volunteering or education. However, an average of just 52 per cent being retained by their employer after their job has ended, which I would like to see improved. The motion highlights the successes from Glasgow. The latest that we have heard today is Ryan Brown, who will soon take on the role of trainee development worker with Move On. The stories of seven young men, Dominic Gibbons, Callum McLeod, Leemaharrowan, Callum Borland, Kevin O'Donnell, Barry O'Donnell and Gordon McCabe have turned their lives around with help from Community Jobs Scotland, helping to repair and maintain housing stock in the Government Housing Association, as Adam Tomkins pointed out earlier. All I would say is where are the girls. In the South of Scotland region, there have been over 1,000 jobs created and 64,000 positive outcomes. The jobs range from admin assistant to assistant, hockey development coach from multimedia and publicity assistant to interior design assistant, which actually sounds quite appealing. There are many different jobs out there that can provide the level of experience to go on and be successful in the respective field that you want to get into. For example, if an applicant had an interest in bikes, a related role can be found. Community Jobs Scotland caters for all and is open to all. It does not force anyone in a particular direction, but instead helps those who enter their preferred profession. The good work continues. Stage 6, now under way, will help to create a further 700 job opportunities for vulnerable young unemployed people aged 16 to 29 through a range of third sector organisations across all of our 32 local authorities. I would briefly like to touch on some of those organisations that participate in my region. We have Apex borders. Its aim is to reduce re-offending, tackle deprivation and make communities safer. Those who have been involved with Apex have said, my confidence in myself and other people has increased. By intending this course, I now feel more confident in getting out of the house, travelling on public transport and doing something for me. Another said, Apex has given me the tools, support and confidence in order to get me where I want to be in life. Those statements are testaments to the great work that Apex borders does and the positive impact that it has. The Dunbar community kitchen, situated within community centre, where I hold my surgeries, makes the best use of local produce. The cafe has strong links with the local fishmonger, butcher and greengrocer, and they will happily use up any garden surplus from local allotments. Most importantly, they give opportunities to those who want a career in hospitality and catering, and I can unreservedly recommend the homemade scones. Peoples Can is also another example in the borders, working towards building community resilience and sustainability. To conclude, ultimately, all those organisations do a great role in giving opportunities to those who want to go and get them. With a hard work ethic and can-do attitude, I pay tribute to all those involved and those in the gallery attending today, and I wish you the best of luck in the future. I now call Jamie Hepburn to close this debate up to seven minutes, please, minister. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I join with others in beginning by thanking Adam Tomkins for bringing forward the motion for debate today. As he, Bill Bowman and Daniel Johnson, possibly others, mentioned this week is Scottish Apprentice week, so it is a timely juncture in which to have this debate, although we of course debated Apprentice week last week when Fulton MacGregor brought forward a member's debate then as well. I know that many members, as we have heard from a number already, have been undertaking a range of visits associated with Apprentice week. I myself, as you might expect, have given my ministerial role having to undertake a range of visits as well and thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to do so. The reason that I think it ties to this programme in particular is that I and I am sure others have been able to encounter and meet a number of modern apprentices who began their journey towards undertaking an apprenticeship by engaging in exactly the type of programme. I am not necessarily just, but exactly the same type of programme as Communities Job Scotland has allowed them to begin their employability journey by progressing towards an apprenticeship, which is an important reminder. I think that this programme is part of a family of employability and training initiatives that we are able to offer. Not only should we be out visiting and seeing opportunities for apprentices, as we do in this apprenticeship week, but a number of members—all members, as happens in members' debates—is rightly the case of highlighted activities that are associated with Communities Job Scotland taking place in their own area. I have got an example in my own constituency of the Scottish Wildlife Trust taking part in Communities Job Scotland in Cumbernauld. I would encourage all members who are taking part in this debate or those who are not here if they have not yet availed themselves of the opportunity to go along and see some of the Communities Job Scotland activity taking place in their constituencies. I also join with others in welcoming those Communities Job Scotland employers and employees who have come along to listen to the members' debate today. I will be very happy to join with them in the Garden Lobby afterwards. Members will, I am sure, be aware that the Scottish Government holds great value in our Communities Job Scotland offering that we provide funding to the SCVO to deliver. The First Minister announced that the recent gathering event in Glasgow that we will continue our commitment to Communities Job Scotland with a further £6.1 million of funding for the coming financial year, which will be phase 7, of the programme at maintaining the £6.1 million funding that we provided this financial year for phase 6. I also had the pleasure of attending the gathering event, in which I outlined some of the detail of the programme for next year. I will not reiterate that because I think that it has already been highlighted. However, the theme of the gathering issue was celebrating the success of Communities Job Scotland. I was very delighted to be able to have the opportunity to highlight from my perspective some of the successes of the programme, and since taking up my post as Minister for Employability and Training, I have been hugely impressed by the dedication and commitment of the third sector to ensuring that young people are afforded the opportunity to achieve success through programmes such as Communities Jobs Scotland. It is, of course, one of the most valuable and successful youth employability interventions that we have. I, of course, give young people the chance to learn and experience the world of work to acquire the skills, training and industry-recognised accreditation that they can acquire through participating in the programme, which is, of course, an important foundation that young people can build on as they continue through their career path. However, I think that it was a very important point that was made by Adam Tomkins, Pauline McNeill and Rachel Hamilton. It is important that we should recognise that those opportunities come around through a competitive interview process. Not all of our programmes are based on that methodology, but this one is. I think that that is an important element, because that reflects the reality for most in the labour market. Not only will young people participate in the programme and acquire the skillset through the experience of getting into the programme, but they will also gain valuable experience through that interview process. Daniel Johnson was absolutely right, though. It not only did attending the gathering allow me to set on the record, but I have viewed the success. Daniel Johnson was absolutely right to say that the best people to hear from are those who have participated in themselves. Ryan Brown, who has been mentioned, was at the gathering and was very happy to be able to speak with him. The Govern Housing Association, which was mentioned by Adam Tomkins, was there, and that was a really good opportunity to hear not only the benefits of the programme to the young people to take part in themselves but the benefits to an employer. They were effusive with praise for the programme. I also heard from Andrew Marshall, who works for Leap Sports Scotland, who I believe is here today. Andrew may be here today, and he was able to talk about having gone through the experience of going through university, graduating and finding it hard to access employment for a variety of reasons. I made it able to get into work through taking part in the Community Jobs Scotland programme. I have to say that, due respect to those individuals, they were very compelling speakers all, but I was really taken with the experience of Jamie Rownt, who works with the Nielsen Community Development Trust as a cycle mechanic and chief of facilities, delivering workshops in schools and in the community. Jamie was a young man who had a difficult start to life as well, and he ended up being detained in Custody at Lomas prison. He spoke very compellingly not only of the great benefits to his ability to access the labour market but to turn his entire life round through interacting with the programme. He was a very assailant reminder of the importance for this type of programme, not only in providing young people with the opportunity to get into the labour market but to be able to get their entire life on track. That is why the programme is so important, because it is not only about the critical element of providing training and getting people into work, but it is about the chance to turn lives around. We see the term that Tavish Scott seems to like. We achieve very positive outcomes through the initiative, but more fundamentally than that. We want to achieve positive outcomes, but more fundamentally than that, we achieve great things for individual human beings through this programme. That is why I am very proud that we support it as an administration, and I look forward to phase 7. This coming financial year continues to achieve great success. This meeting is suspended until 2.30 p.m.