Shetland young people encouraged to complete survey

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has commissioned the study into the changing attitudes and aspirations of people aged 15 to 30 in relation to the Highlands and Islands, and wants to make sure Shetland’s voice is heard.

The online survey will build on a similar study carried out in 2015, which demonstrated an overwhelming sense of pride and confidence in the region among the 4,400 young people who took part.

This showed that young people across Shetland are generally positive about their area and wish to remain living locally, amongst the highest proportions across the whole of the Highlands and Islands.

The new study is exploring opportunities around education, training and employment for the age group, and how these can be maximised.

Those taking part can enter a prize draw, with prizes including tickets to Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival and Groove Loch Ness, as well as vouchers for Spotify and Netflix.

There have been more than a thousand responses to the survey so far, 54 of them from Shetland.

Rachel Hunter, HIE’s area manager in Shetland, said:

“Young economically active people are absolutely key to the future prosperity of Shetland and the Highlands and Islands generally. They are also crucial in the long-term sustainability of communities.

“This is an important study and we want to make sure the views of Shetland’s young people are properly represented in the study.

“The findings will be shared with all our partners and will help inform policy and activities in relation to both population growth and young talent attraction and retention across the region.”

Young people can access the online survey at www.hie.co.uk/yp-research . It takes around 15 minutes to complete and is running until the end of July.