Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the launch of the Chamber Choices Programme – an employability initiative aimed at supporting young people aged 16-19 in North Ayrshire who are currently not in employment, education or training.

 

The Chamber Choices programme officially begun in June 2025 and is designed to run throughout the financial year, offering four separate cohorts, each lasting six weeks.

Each six-week cohort includes:

• Week 1: Induction week
• Week 2: Workshops focusing on confidence-building, communication skills, resilience, and recognising hidden talents
• Week 3: Workplace visits to employer sites to explore careers within a variety of sectors
• Week 4 & 5: Work placements to give a taster of the world of work and transferable skills to take away
• Week 6: the final week involves next steps support including CV support, mock interviews, workshops and a ceremony.

Support participants receive is on a one-to-one basis, led by dedicated Employment Advisor acting as a mentor Laura Gilchrist, who works closely with each individual to help them overcome challenges and set realistic, achievable goals.

The first programme saw participants Zara, Alfie and Ashton engage with a series of employers:

• Coach by Chloe who delivered week two workshops
• Site tours to Barclays Lifeskills (Glasgow), Ashleigh Construction (site in Kilbirnie), The Portal (Irvine) and AC Whyte (Barrhead) who carried out mock interviews in addition to the tour. Ayrshire College (Kilwinning) offered a tour of their campus whilst exploring the many different courses available
• NSPCC wellbeing in the workplace talk
• Work placements were hosted by Ashleigh and Dekors (Irvine).

The programme concluded on Friday 8^th August with a small ceremony where certificates were presented to participants Alfie, Ashton and Zara as a recognition of their accomplishments throughout the duration.

Participant feedback stated a key highlight was “having the support and help with finding good jobs”, mentor Laura was helpful for “getting me into different workplaces to see what they do”. All individuals completed the programme feeling more confident about searching and applying for jobs/courses in the future.

Ayrshire Chamber CEO Claire Baird said, “Congratulations to Alfie, Ashton and Zara. Their journeys will inspire future participants and highlight the importance of targeted youth employability support in our local communities.  By offering work placements, site visits, or mentoring, businesses can play a crucial role in shaping the futures of these young people while strengthening community ties and addressing skills gaps in the local economy. We look forward to welcoming the next cohort. “

Ayrshire Chamber are inviting employers from across Ayrshire to get involved in the programme. Employers can be involved at any stage throughout the six weeks and offering support such as a work placement, a visit to your site, a motivational speech or employability support. Any input could help these young people find employment in the future.

 

See the latest on social media by searching #ChamberChoicesNorth.

 

Whether you are a young person looking to participate in the programme or an employer looking to support it, you can find out more here.