KILWINNING Sports Club has been commended for its commitment to young people.

The Pennyburn facility has received the Investor in Young People award for its tireless dedication to youngsters.

The club impressed judges through its leadership, involvement in employability, work experience and placements, building life skills and volunteering and confidence building.

Robin Sinclair from Investors in People Scotland, said: “The range of opportunities created through the Grounds Maintenance and the relationship with Land Engineering is impressive, and those young people who have come through that route have a set of skills that will be useful in future.

“Everyone I spoke to could confirm the possible career path and although the CJS roles are temporary they are helping develop key skills and confidence which is so important.”

The club’s Breakfast Club was particularly singled out for commendation for its commitment to both the children who use it and the young people who run it.

Mr Sinclair said: “The club successfully won the funding for the Children In Need Breakfast Club and this is being supported and run by Young People, which is giving them an insight into deprivation they may not have experienced. Many of them are completing their SVQs or Modern Apprenticeships.”

The club also received a pat on the back for its Employability Scheme which has seen them hire scores of young people on work placements, allowing them to gain qualifications and go on to full time employment elsewhere.

Mr Sinclair added: “Working through the Employability Fund the club have been taking on large numbers on Work Placements -12 at a time - with significant expenditure on training on machinery and equipment. This was funded for three years.

“The club also works in partnership with Spark of Genius, on the Certificate of Work Readiness, and provide many opportunities tailored to individual needs such as Cleaning, Grounds Maintenance and Sport and Leisure.”

The club have also received congratulations from MSP Annabel Ewing, minister for Youth and Women’s Employment.

She said: “I would just like to offer my congratulations on Kilwinning Sports Club achieving Investors in Young People accreditation.

“Employers have a crucial role to play in supporting youth employment and the Investors in Young People framework and accolade offers help and recognition which will encourage more employers to do that.

“I greatly appreciate your organisation’s commitment to providing employment and development opportunities for our young people, the young workforce of the future.

“Congratulations again on this richly deserved recognition of the excellent work that Kilwinning Sports Club is doing to support young people into employment.”

KSC’s Healthy Young Lives Co-ordinator, Claire Hodge said the club were delighted to be recognised.

She said: “We are delighted to be recognised in this way for our work with local young people. We want to help raise awareness of the value a young person can bring to an organisation.

"Young people have always been at the heart of the club and we will continue to help in any way we can to tackle the issues of youth unemployment in the local area. We are very proud of the young people we have supported and will continue to source funding to offer as many training and employment opportunities as we can.”