Scottish 50+ employability project

A key route to improving employability of older adults is engagement with lifelong learning. The Realising Your Potential (RYP) project in Scotland provides a range of innovative methods to support older workers participate in, or re-engage with, lifelong learning.
The project operates throughout the west of Scotland, assisting individuals aged 50+ in full-time, part-time or self-employment, to reconnect with learning, explore their potential and develop new skills beneficial to future employability. The RYP project offers an opportunity for individuals to reflect on past experiences and take time to explore new areas of interest through a structured learning programme. There will also be an opportunity for participants to review their current workability and, through individual planning sessions, make changes to enhance their work potential in later life.

RYP is managed by the University of Strathclyde Senior Studies Institute, which was established in 1991 to meet the increasing demand from older people for learning which matched their interests, aptitudes and needs. The Institute is unique in Scotland, and has become internationally recognised for the quality of its educational programme and for its expanding role in advising policy makers and business on age-focused issues.

For more information contact: Graham Smith, Project Co-ordinator graham.smith@strath.ac.uk