From their base in Greenock, Ocean Youth Trust Scotland (OYT Scotland) delivers transformative residential voyages at sea for over 650 young people aged 12–25 every year. Their powerful and unique approach to youth work helps young people build confidence, resilience and crucial life skills while earning nationally recognised qualifications – often for the very first time.
With a track record of over 16,000 young people supported, many who are living with poverty, OYT Scotland is a standpoint of excellence in skills-based youth work. As a registered SQA Centre, the Trust delivers around 1,000 qualifications annually, including Core Skills and Duke of Edinburgh Awards. They are also a proud recipient of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service and multiple Inverclyde ICON Awards for Diversity.
Their commitment to inclusive youth development is evident in their work with care-experienced young people, young carers, and those at risk of disengagement or criminal justice involvement. Their long-standing partnership with the CashBack for Communities programme enables young people to earn up to 9 SQA qualifications and a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Award during their voyage. These achievements open doors to volunteering, further education, and employment.
Life on board is more than sailing – it’s about learning teamwork, responsibility, and leadership in a dynamic, unpredictable environment. From navigating at sea to cleaning, cooking, and caring for each other, every moment builds resilience and real-life capability.
A powerful testimony comes from Ryden, a 17-year-old volunteer who started as a participant on a Cashback voyage. Now a Bosun on six youth work voyages, Ryden shares:
“Being on the boats for a week will make memories for a lifetime, but being given the chance to enable a young person to make those memories and thrive… is honestly such a privilege and I couldn’t be happier anywhere else.”
OYT Scotland exemplifies how recognising achievement through adventurous youth work can help young people to overcome barriers and chart new courses for their futures.
The Thrive programme represents a bold and effective collaboration between TD1 Youth Hub, Scottish Borders Council’s CLD service, and Galashiels Academy. Developed in response to the needs of young people most impacted by the attainment gap, the programme offers innovative, accredited course choices as part of the senior phase curriculum – including the SCQF Level 4 Mental Health & Wellbeing Award for S4 pupils and SCQF Level 6 Theory and Practice of Youth Work for S5-S6 pupils.
This unique model merges formal and informal education with real-world community-based experiences. Using a young person-centred approach, the partnership delivers both groupwork and one-to-one support, creating flexible and responsive pathways to learning and personal development.
Galashiels Academy has invested in youth work partnerships over eight years and recognises the transformative impact this collaboration brings. The Thrive programme supports those with the most barriers to engagement, often due to poor school attendance, learning difficulties or challenging life circumstances. Young people are supported both in and out of school, with additional awards like the John Muir Award and even practical skills like welding included.
The results speak for themselves: all ten participants on last year’s Thrive course achieved SQA units, with 7 gaining the full award and significant improvements in attendance (from <50% to over 75%). All moved on to positive destinations. The Level 6 Youth Work Course has already seen 250 hours of volunteer placement time contributed by 14 young people, all on track to complete the full award.
Thrive’s success lies in the trust-based relationships developed through youth work, allowing disengaged learners to reconnect with education and see their own potential. With young people from care-experienced and asylum-seeking backgrounds among this year’s participants, Thrive exemplifies how recognising and nurturing skills and achievement can be truly life-changing.
At Girvan Academy in South Ayrshire, a powerful collaboration with Girvan Youth Trust is changing outcomes for young people most at risk of disengagement.
Girvan Youth Trust (GYT), a respected community-based youth organisation, is embedded in the school every day, delivering one-to-one support, small group work, and wellbeing programmes. But their flagship initiative is the Joint Venture Project, a unique employability and engagement programme created for pupils on the verge of leaving school without qualifications or a positive destination.
This highly tailored programme brings together Girvan Youth Trust, school staff, Skills Development Scotland, South Ayrshire Council’s Thriving Communities Team, and local employers. Together, they support targeted pupils in the final months before they leave school. Young people facing challenges including low attendance, demotivation, and socio-economic disadvantage.
Over two tailored blocks each year, young people take part in:
The results are nothing short of exceptional. All 16 participants in the past year achieved qualifications, gained confidence, and moved on to positive destinations including college, employment, training—and for some, even a return to school. The programme has contributed to Girvan Academy achieving a 96% positive destination rate.
As one young person, Aaron, reflected:
“I don’t think I would have had the confidence to go for college or apply for a job without the Joint Venture course.”
Recognised as excellent practice by HMIe, this is partnership in action, supporting young people to believe in themselves, develop new skills, and take their next steps with pride.