Street League targets sports to engage with young people, as well as teach them the key life and work skills they need to move into sustainable employment.

The two organisations have worked together to establish construction skills academies, giving young people employability support such as career advice, CV writing and interview skills – alongside construction sector specific insights.

This partnership enables young people who access Street League’s services to get motivated and informed about career pathways in the construction industry, providing sector specific employability advice.

Each participant with an interest in a career in construction is given assistance by Street League to receive a Construction Skills Certification Scheme card upon completion – a national benchmark of the skills required to work on a construction site.

GRAHAM will also be fundraising for Street League throughout the year as well as linking its supply chain partners with the organisation’s modern apprenticeship offer, enabling young people working for those partners to gain an SVQ in business administration.

GRAHAM social impact manager, Debbie Rutherford, said: “Work placements and the promotion of skills has always been an extremely important part of GRAHAM’s overall vision for Scotland, driving the creation of this partnership with Street League.

“We’ve developed a collaborative model which will give young people access to Street’s League’s comprehensive employability training as well as specific hands-on construction experience at the Meadowbank Sports Centre site.

“We look forward to working with Street League across a number of different initiatives throughout the year– including fundraising and SVQs.”

Street League’s vision is to see an end to youth unemployment in the UK. It tackles poverty, using sport to help young people who need it most get into sustainable education, training and job opportunities. It has a national team, working in 36 local communities across Scotland and England. In the year ahead, the charity plans to support over 1600 young people into jobs, education or training.

Dougie Stevenson, Street League’s managing director Scotland, said: “Partnerships that offer opportunities for young people to gain work experience, and the skills needed to succeed in a job, are invaluable. We are delighted to be working with GRAHAM to unlock these opportunities and the potential for our modern apprenticeships to be offered to their supply chain partners.

“With financial support as well, through the generosity of their staff’s fundraising efforts, we are looking forward to seeing how this partnership can develop and grow nationally.”

Upon completion in 2020, Meadowbank Sports Centre with feature new indoor facilities including an athletics hall, multi-use sports halls, health club, fitness suite and studios, halls for gymnastics & martial arts, squash courts, as well as an outdoor athletics track stadium with dedicated purpose-built space for throw athletics and two all-weather, 3G pitches.