INVERCLYDE Council has picked up a national award for a scheme which aimed to tackle the twin issues of an ageing workforce and low youth employment.

The local authority’s Workforce Refresh programme won Best Workforce Initiative at the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards last night.

Launched in November 2020, the initiative allowed council employees aged 55-65 to access their pension early, while offering those vacancies to young people in Inverclyde.

A total of 94 young workers were recruited between 2020/21 and 2021/22, with all of the vacancies created by the programme being filled by Inverclyde residents.

Council leader Stephen McCabe said: “This is a wonderful achievement and testament to all our hardworking officers at the council.

“Day in, day out officers at Inverclyde Council are doing their best to support the people of this area and I want to thank them for all their hard work.

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“Our Workforce Refresh programme was innovative and well-received. It offered our older staff the chance to move on while giving young people the opportunity to start their career in local government.

“The wide variety of projects submitted to the ASPE Awards shows the innovation that we have here at Inverclyde Council and I am delighted we won Best Workforce Initiative.”

Open to local authorities across the UK, the APSE Awards seek to celebrate councils achieving excellent results across a range of service areas.

Inverclyde Council submitted six entries and was selected by judges as a nominee in the Council of the Year category.

This year’s winners were announced at a ceremony at Titanic Belfast last night.

APSE chief executive Mo Baines said: “Across local government we have an army of unsung heroes going above and beyond to deliver for their local communities.

“The purpose of last night’s celebration was to recognise the very best in public services and to share that best practice with all.

“We received over 300 submissions for the awards this year, with each one demonstrating a clear commitment to the goals of continuous improvement and the delivery of excellence in public services.

“On behalf of everyone at APSE, I would like to congratulate each one of our incredible finalists – you are a credit to the communities you serve."