Latest Staff News

5 February - Help a young person become Career Ready

We are excited to invite departments across the council to participate in the Career Ready programme. Since 2012, the council has partnered with Career Ready to support young people in S5 who face social and financial challenges, providing them with the opportunities they need to reach their potential in the world of work.

Gary Condie, Education Lead for Children's Rights and Participation, Education Services explains, "The 18- month programme involves providing a young person with a mentor, access to skills masterclasses, and a paid internship. We are looking for staff to become mentors and work one to one with a young person over the course of the programme. You will meet the young person for up to 90 minutes every four to six weeks in your place of work, the school or a public place and as part of their mentorship the young person will spend a four-week work placement in your department in June 2026. Full training and support is given to mentors, and we have launched a Career Ready staff page so you can find out more.

The programme will begin in November 2025, and you will have the chance to meet your young person at the launch event held at Celtic Park. This is a fantastic opportunity to share your knowledge and experience, helping students gain the skills and confidence they need to succeed in their careers.

If you would like more information on how to apply or to register your interest in the programme, please contact Gary Condie on Outlook.

5 February - Children's clothing donation pods to stay until March

Continuing the success of our Winter clothes donation pods, No Wrong Door Partner ApparelXchange, will continue to collect pre-loved children's clothes until the 19 of March. Thank you to everyone who has already donated generously over the Christmas period. 

What can I donate?
Donations of clothes, jackets, shoes and accessories for children up to age 18 years will be gratefully accepted
Please make sure all items are clean and folded.
However, they are also able to accept clothing that might be damaged or stained - as they will repair and clean them if they can.
So don't hold back, have a good clear-out, and play your part to help the environment by recycling your pre-loved items.

Where can I donate?
You can pop your items into one of our pods until the 19 of March
Donation pods are located at across the City Chambers Complex at:

• City Chambers West - Main Entrance
• City Chambers East - 40 John Stret Reception
• Exchange House - 231 George Street Reception

ApparelXchange is committed to providing affordable, sustainable fashion for all children across the city. They offer clothing packages (accessible through referrals) in their Southside shop or also online.
For any questions regarding this partnership initiative, email Geraldine Norval on Outlook. 

5 February - Glasgow awarded research and development grant to tackle health inequalities: to help improve the lives of our citizens

The council, together with Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS and the University of Glasgow have been successfully awarded £5 million funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to set up a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) in Glasgow.  

The HDRC project will use key research to help improve public health outcomes in Glasgow. It involves collaboration between various departments and partners to make sure that research informs, and is integrated into, our policy and practice to enhance Glasgow's public health. HDRC will help us to become even better at using smart data to make good decisions that impact our citizen's health - in particular, our younger residents. A primary focus of the project is to address child poverty, helping to end it through early intervention supported by key data and research. 

John Sherry, Strategic Lead Child Poverty Programme adds: "We have seen how helpful it is when researchers work closely with people who put policies into action. They help create a deeper understanding of the needs and priorities of both policy and practice. Through the HDRC Glasgow, we have an opportunity to build on the research-practice collaboration that was designed and facilitated by researchers from the University of Glasgow as part of the Glasgow Child Poverty Pathfinder (now Programme). This five-year investment in Glasgow allows us to expand on this innovative work and further strengthen our capacity to use data and evidence effectively to deliver services that tackle inequalities and support families to thrive."

Kimberley Hose, Director HDRC Glasgow, Council Lead explains: "We are on a mission to make research and learning a key part of how the council works. We want to make sure all our colleagues have the right tools and skills they need to use research effectively - to help to improve health outcomes in Glasgow.

"HDRC is about learning how to work differently: to use data and research to regularly review and evaluate initiatives. Tackling child poverty has always been a top priority for the HDRC and this funding will help support the project to be proactive in tackling immediate challenges whilst developing new innovative solutions and strategies to deal with health related issues in our city.  By bringing together communities, experts from universities, public health professionals, and council officers - we can share knowledge and experience, all supported by using key research and evidence to help make better decisions."  Read more on our main website here.

5 February - Encore to pilot Borrow Cup in selected venues 

The UK's first-ever returnable cup initiative between multiple national brands launched in Glasgow on Monday 27 January, making it easier for people to skip the disposable cup when they next buy a drink. 
Encore is delighted to be part of the scheme and will be piloting the initiative in Café Ure (City Chambers Main Building) and Café East (East Building) the and the Coffee Shop in Kelvingrove Museum. 

Customers purchasing a drink at any participating store will be given the option to use a Borrow Cup for a refundable £1 deposit. Cups are available in two different sizes, and customers can return them at any participating location to either use again, swap for a clean cup for their next drink, get their deposit back at the till or a £1 voucher at a return point.
In addition to Encore Cafés this scheme will be running in Costa, Caffè Nero, Burger King® UK and local cafes. Visit https://www.hubbub.org.uk/ for more information. 

Ross McKenzie, Senior Operations Manager for Encore Hospitality Services said: "Borrow Cup is the first scheme of its kind in Glasgow to work with so many different organisations, hopefully it's successful and we can involve more of our sites after this initial trial".

5 February - Check out the new Podcast!  

Helping to break down the stigma about fears with maths and numbers. Each episode, key hosts will chat about the free support available and provide top tips and resources to help you manage your finances or help the kids with maths homework. 

Glasgow City Region, as part of their Multiply Campaign, launched the new podcast series: Are Numbers Getting In Your Way, in December last year in collaboration with local Sunny Govan community radio. It focuses on breaking down the stigma about fears with maths and numbers, maths anxiety and providing top tips and resources for helping children with maths homework and managing your finances. 

Each episode features new hosts; including East Dunbartonshire Principal Maths Teachers, Renfrewshire Affordable Credit Alliance, Citizens Advice Bureau and the Health and Social Care Alliance, as well as learners who share their personal struggles with maths and numbers. 

Multiply is a UK Government Funded Initiative to specifically support adult numeracy learning for adults aged 16+. It aims to improve adult numeracy skills, confidence with numbers and career prospects. It's designed to help people looking to develop new skills, boost their career, support family learning, gain new qualifications or better manage their finances.

Locally, the Multiply Campaign is a Glasgow City Region approach, with the 8 member authorities: East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire. It launched early 2024 and runs until the 31 March 2025.

Visit Multiply123 Website  for Top Tips resource pages to support the podcast topics with a link to listen to each episode and as well as a list of available courses - which can be filtered by council area and theme.

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