Siobhan McMahon MSP Finds Out More About Energy Company Obligation Installations

Central Scotland Labour MSP Siobhan McMahon this week met with representatives of ofgem to find out more about Energy Company Obligation Installations.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a government scheme to obligate larger suppliers to deliver energy efficiency measures to domestic premises in Britain.

You can find out more information about this here.

Siobhan McMahon MSP Learns of Challenges Facing Young Deaf People Seeking Employment

With Abigail Matheson

Central Scotland MSP, Siobhan McMahon, is supporting Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s new ‘Moving On’ service supporting young deaf people into work, after sponsoring the charity’s reception in the Scottish Parliament last week.

MSPs and guests heard from Abigail Matheson, 25, that employers’ lack of understanding of communication support, poor deaf awareness, and not knowing about the Access to Work scheme are creating barriers preventing deaf people from having the chance to get into their preferred careers.

Abigail also raised the problems deaf people often face at Job Centre Plus where staff won’t always book British Sign Language interpreters, or use the correct terminology when talking about deaf people and their individual communication needs.

Abigail found employment as a support worker for a deaf charity following specialist support from Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s ‘Moving On’ service which advised Abigail on her CV, gave her mock interview training and ensured that potential employers booked interpreters for her job interviews. Moving On is funded by The Big Lottery Fund Scotland and supports young deaf or hard of hearing people aged 16-25 into employment, training and education opportunities.

Siobhan McMahon MSP said: “Abigail’s story is a real inspiration for young deaf people who use British Sign Language but it really drives home the challenges that deaf people face when seeking employment – unnecessary barriers that simply should not be in their way. I urge employers across Central Scotland to contact Action on Hearing Loss Scotland to find out how they can make their recruitment processes accessible and ensure talented employees who are deaf or have hearing loss are supported to progress in the workplace.”

Abigail Matheson said: “Employers need to understand that all deaf people are different and we may have different communication needs. I have had a lot of support from my mum and from the team at Action on Hearing Loss Scotland. Having people who are prepared to support me has meant that I’m now doing a job I want to do as I work towards my long-term goal of becoming a Social Worker. If employers continue to turn their backs on deaf people, it reduces our work options and means we face having to claim benefits.”

Action on Hearing Loss Scotland is a charity which helps people to confront deafness, tinnitus and hearing loss to live the life they choose. Action on Hearing Loss Scotland enables people who are deaf or hearing loss to take control of their lives and remove the barriers in their way. Action on Hearing Loss gives people support and care, develop technology and treatments, and campaign for equality.

For further information about Action on Hearing Loss Scotland or to become a member, visit www.hearingloss.org.uk/Scotland, contact Action on Hearing Loss’s Information Line on 0808 808 0123 (freephone) or 0808 808 9000 (textphone) or email: informationline@hearingloss.org.uk.

 

 

 

 

Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Spirit and Innovation of Scotland’s Women

Last week in Parliament (Tuesday 2^nd June) I was pleased to be able to speak in a debate in my role as Scottish Labour’s Shadow Minister for Youth and Women’s Employment on the “Scotland CAN DO Action Framework” which was published by the Scottish Government last year.

It sets out how the Government aims to make Scotland a leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation.

I believe that as a society, we should be grateful for the contribution of our entrepreneurs and I admire the spirit that they have shown to get where they are.

However, we must also recognise that nobody, no matter how successful they are, got there alone.

This was of course highlighted by President Obama on his campaign tour of the United States in 2012, in his so called “You didn’t build that” speech. The president was chastised by the rival Republican campaign as playing down entrepreneurs and their contribution to American society.

In fact, the point he was making was a sensible one that we would do well to remember.

Those who have achieved success should be congratulated for it but it should never be forgotten that our public services built the schools that taught them, the hospitals that cared for them and all of the other services that they have relied upon. By all means, recognise the efforts and drive of the “go-getters”, but the contributions of the public and private sector workers who helped them to get where they are today are just as worthy of our adulation.

The aspiration to maximise the potential of entrepreneurs for the betterment of our entire society is undoubtedly shared by all political parties and across Scotland.

I have said it before and I really mean it: our Parliament works best when we come together across party lines and work towards improving the lot of our constituents.

However as the Opposition, it is the Scottish Labour Party’s obligation to hold the Government to account because at the moment, the enterprise and growth that we so badly need is not serving everyone in our communities. In particular, women still face massive challenges.

• As of 2013, only 7.8% of women were self-employed, compared with a figure of 15% for men.
• Statistics from the close the gap partnership project indicate that only one third of chief executive officers in Scotland are women.
• If rates of women-led businesses equalled those of men, the contribution to Scotland’s gross value added would increase by £7.6 billion to nearly £13 billion. This equates to a 5.3% growth in the size of the Scottish economy.

It is also important to note that in the fast-growing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) sector, the scale of occupational segregation is truly astonishing.

• Last year, only 68 out of 24,000 engineering apprentices were female.
• 85% of those doing IT courses at school are male.
• The Government’s 2015 “Maximising Economic Opportunities for Women in Scotland” report demonstrated that 73% of female STEM graduates do not work in the field after graduation.

It used to be that advances in science and technology liberated women, but now they have the potential to hold them back.

All the signs suggest that the jobs of the future will come from the industries that women are less likely to work in. If we are not careful, we will lock women out of those career paths and trap them in traditional roles, which are all too often low paid and low skilled. Even the Government’s flagship modern apprenticeship programme seems to have only reinforced gender segregation; in 2012-13 98% of construction apprentices were male and 97% of children’s care apprentices were female.

We must also recognise the damaging impact that the cuts to college places have had on women’s prospects of studying STEM subjects: since 2007-08, there has been a drop of 41% in the number of women at college.

With damaging cuts like that, how can we expect women to fulfil their promise?

On average, women working full time in Scotland earn £95.60 a week less than their male counterparts and it is still common for women to take a cut in their pay grade and job status in order to find suitable flexible work. Until we right those wrongs, we will never unlock the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation of 50% of our population.

Scotland can do, but must do more.

 

You can read my speech in full here.