I feel this petition is necessary because Covid-19 has decimated the jobs market. Job hunting is extremely hard now in Scotland with no quick fix. Let's make Scotland open for business.
We all need to adapt to attack the economic pressures. I believe that the current rules are holding the population back from tackling the economic challenges ahead.
While some areas are part of an industrial power house like cities, others are classed as rural, and don't have access to similar levels of help. In rural areas, people aren’t being supported to access jobs being advertised only 6 or 7 miles from their home, because they are in another local authority.
I can only ask local agencies for help, when there may be more opportunities in a neighbouring area. This is because organisations, funded by Skills Development Scotland to help people into work are bound by the current rules to only work with those who live within their local authority.
These boundaries are restrictive and dictate where people can get help. The way forward has to be a more flexible approach with Scotland working together, not as individual local authorities.
Long term unemployment is a major expense Scotland can ill afford. I believe that much of it could be avoided if only we become more flexible to challenge the economic tasks ahead.
Skills Development Scotland does not have the authority to change the rules that it works by so the Scottish Government must.
I believe that unemployment is unnecessary. Allow people of all ages to access support into work in neighbouring local authorities and allow job hunting in more industrious areas with more employment opportunities. This would help us all tackle the economic challenges ahead.