Supporting young people to reach their potential
Move On hires a Development Worker to support vulnerable young people with funding from the Bairdwatson Charitable Trust.
Move On supports vulnerable young people aged 16 to 25, including those who have experience of care, the justice system, or who are not engaged in education, training, or work. Working across Edinburgh and Glasgow, the organisation takes a preventative, trauma-informed approach to help young people access and sustain volunteering, education, training, skills development, and employment. It also provides support in literacy, numeracy, IT, and financial skills, and runs social enterprises where it can offer young people real work experience.
The Bairdwatson Charitable Trust supports organisations that provide training for employment, employment support, and vocational skills. In 2025, the Bairdwatson Charitable Trust awarded £16,710 to Move On to contribute towards the salary of a part-time Development Worker who will offer young people in North Edinburgh one-to-one support, training and volunteering opportunities so they can improve their employability skills.
The role was key to building community links with schools, community organisations and families to identify and recruit young people who aren’t accessing education, training or employment. The role built important connections with the young people, getting to know each participant individually, offering tailored literacy and numeracy support, and helping them overcome challenges such as lateness or difficulties with paper-based exercises
The young people also received one-to-one key worker support and volunteering opportunities through the Development Worker, helping to build vital employability skills for their CVs, along with signposting them to other opportunities and training.
All participants completed the course, improved their confidence and work skills, and achieved qualifications. Many progressed to college, further training, or employment, while some also decided to volunteer with Move On itself.
Beyond these achievements, young people formed friendships, improved communication, and supported each other throughout the course.
Case Study from Move on:
"MG was referred to us in March 2025 by his Cyrenians worker. He has experience with care, struggles with attendance at school, and English is a second language. His referral made note of his passion for woodwork and the outdoors, but that he was lacking in confidence, and so it was hoped the course would help him work on this and support his future career in the trades. MG started on the 8-week course in March and maintained a very high attendance throughout. He was quiet but quickly made good friends with the other young people on the course, which was nice to see as they helped bring him out of his shell.
He completed the SQA employability award and core skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. He completed a weeklong work placement with CCG, onsite in Granton, trying joinery and bricklaying. He really enjoyed his time there and rated his experience really highly when asked to evaluate it. MG found practicing for his CSCS test in the office very helpful, as he is good at staying focused. He was scoring highly quite early on, and by the end of the course, he was consistently passing. His test was booked for the 19th May, just over 2 weeks after the end of the course. This is quite rare for our participants and a testament to MG’s commitment and motivation to keep studying and practising. With the REHIS Health & Safety qualification he gained during the course, and the CSCS certificate, we were able to buy his green labourer's CSCS card, which will enable him to apply for jobs on construction sites.
MG has gained confidence, social networks, improved wellbeing and has shown responsibility both in the classroom and on work experience. He has improved his ability to stay focused on tasks, especially during long revision sessions. He has completed work training on a construction site, improving his work skills, punctuality, motivation and ambition. MG received further support after the end of the course to work on his CV and apply for summer jobs. He began his Introduction to Construction course at Edinburgh College in August."
Impact at a glance
- 30 young people participated
- 100% completed the course
- 7 achieved REHIS Health & Safety certificate
- 100% improved confidence & work skills
- 4 gained CSCS card (3 more working towards it)
- 100% completed a week-long work placement
- 5 went on to volunteer at Move On
- 100% gained SQA Employability qualification
- 3 Progressed to Edinburgh College Introduction to Construction Course
Additional impact:
- Multiple friendships formed
- Overall communication skills improved
- Social networks strengthened
The grant has made a meaningful difference, giving young people in a disadvantaged area the opportunity to build a future. Additional funding has been secured to keep the programme running through summer 2026, and further applications have been submitted to ensure it can continue beyond that, helping more young people gain the skills, experience, and confidence to take positive steps out of unemployment and social isolation.