A three-year project to help blind and partially sighted young people in Aberdeenshire find jobs or get into further education has been given a cash boost.
Sight loss charity RNIB Scotland has been awarded £516,235 for the scheme from the Big Lottery’s Investing in Communities programme.
The money will be used for the Looking to the Future programme, which helps young people aged 15-25 to make the transition from school into the wider world.
Kate Storrow, employment and learning services manager for the charity, said: “Young people with sight loss often experience difficulty in finding a suitable job, training course or college or university place because there is a lack of support.
“Looking to the Future will help them plan and prepare for life after school by providing advice and information so they can make the choice that best suits their skills and ambitions.”
Ms Storrow hopes the initiative will go some way to tackling the unemployment rate among blind and partially sighted people.
She said 66% of the group were out of work, and recent figures indicated that out of 26,500 modern apprenticeships, fewer than 70 were being carried out by people with a disability.
The scheme will help users find out what knowledge and skills they have to offer, and explore areas they need to develop. They will also receive help with CV writing, job applications and interview techniques.
It is hoped the project will help about 140 people in Aberdeenshire, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Ms Storrow said she was delighted the charity had received the funding, adding: “It’s fantastic and so exciting for us. It will allow us to add another part to the service. It will allow us to identify problems young people have, research them and solve them better.”
Maureen McGinn, chairwoman of the Big Lottery Fund Scotland, said: “This is life-changing money that will benefit those people and communities most in need. This grant will make a big difference where it is needed most and I wish RNIB Scotland every success as it goes on to develop and expand its project.”