Employability Orkney in partnership with Skills Development Scotland have published a booklet, ‘Steps towards Work’ a guide to the assistance available in Orkney. At a recent employers’ event held in the Ayre Hotel, Kirkwall, Ian Carse, Head of Careers Services in the Highlands & Islands very kindly agreed to launch the booklet. He said ‘Current economic conditions are not easy for employers who are having to compete in the most demanding business circumstances we have experienced for some time and the idea of taking on staff must be causing them to pause and think. These circumstances are also affecting individuals who are looking to progress in their career or trying to return to the labour market and they too need to think carefully about the next best steps to take.’ He went on to say ‘However, Orkney has a very good reputation for adapting to changing economic circumstances because we display true entrepreneurial spirit and resilience in both our businesses and our people. In addition we have a good reputation for looking for innovative solutions when thinking about taking on staff or applying for jobs and that is why the organisation Skills Development Scotland no longer looks just at occupational choice with clients but we encourage the companies and individuals we work with to think about the balance between life and work and work options and how they can best be adapted to suit individual circumstances.’The booklet is full of hints and tips to help employers, agencies and most of all people in Orkney looking for work. Amy Thomson, Project Manager at Employability Orkney said ‘We at Employability Orkney are here to support both the employer and the employee. The model we adopt is for partnership working, between employer and Employability Orkney, enabling people to achieve sustainable long-term employment and businesses to employ valuable workers.’Employability Orkney is a charity and is governed by a Board of Directors whose chairman is Jeremy Richardson. Jeremy said at the launch ‘The partnership model is not yet complete because we do not yet have sufficiently good relationships and agreements with the business community.’ His message stated that they cannot do this without support from the business community. They need their help to access the skills and abilities which are currently lost to the community workforce. If they can access these skills they can return people to work and to full inclusion in the community. They can give back to people a sense of fulfilment and self-esteem. They can return people’s individual identity and meet their emotional and psychological needs. To do this they need access to employment opportunities for their clients and they need to work with employers to ensure that these opportunities work to the benefit of the employer and the individual employee. For more information on Employability Orkney’s partnership model please contact Amy Thomson on 876605 or Jeremy Richardson on 874874.