Shetland Partnership Network Thursday 31st October 2024
The fourth 2024 meeting of the Shetland Partnership Network took place on Thursday 31st October at Mareel.
The Network was hosted by Skills Development Scotland and Shetland Arts Development Agency. It was a chance for partners to learn about the work these organisations are doing, with a focus on careers and young people.
The Shetland Partnership Network aims to help partners create a sense of shared ownership of community planning and to create a safe environment for open and honest conversations around the challenges and opportunities to tackle inequalities in Shetland. The Network brings together representatives of all community planning partners in Shetland and offers opportunities for information sharing, developing ideas and building relationships.
After an introduction from the Chair, Anthony Standing and Susan MacRae from Skills Development Scotland gave a presentation on the Voice of Young People. This included a preview into the 2024 Senior Phase (Secondary 4-6) Research (Pupil Voice Survey), which contains a wealth of information, including information on pupils’ plans to stay on at school or leave, what they want to study, what they want to do next and what skills they consider important. They also presented SDS research on social media and how young people are using social media in terms of their careers – the ‘Rise of the TikTok Generation’.
While network members enjoyed a coffee break, a short film was played in the background, showcasing the work of the students who study drama, music and film at Mareel. Graeme Howell from Shetland Arts then introduced a presentation explaining what Shetland Arts does, their aims and the social outcomes they are working towards. Bryan Peterson and three students gave an overview of the types of courses which can be studied at Shetland Arts in partnership with UHI. The young people spoke about why they had chosen to study the courses they had, and what they got out of it. The students seemed to enjoy the opportunity to study music and film in a college setting and were learning lots of skills along the way such as project management. Kathryn Gordon then spoke about creative projects and the work of Shetland Arts in supporting local artists. The presentation was closed with Graeme providing additional information on how Shetland Arts works with partners and the community.
Following the event, a tour of Mareel was offered to everyone, led by Bryan and the students.
Representatives of 12 partners took part. Feedback from the event was positive with many attendees describing the presentations as ‘inspiring’ and ‘really interesting’. Attendees enjoyed hearing from young people, said that the content was enjoyable and appreciated the insights. People liked hearing about the social media side of engagement, and hearing from Shetland Arts about how they are supporting young people.
The next Shetland Partnership Network will take place on Tuesday 10th December.