East Ayrshire has been ranked fourth in Scotland for the proportion of school leavers moving on to positive destinations, its best result on record.

The ranking follows the Scottish Government's release of national statistics for 2024/25. The area recorded a figure of 96.4 per cent, the highest it has ever achieved, which the council credits to its approach to helping young people reach their potential.

A positive destination covers a wide range of next steps. It includes higher education, further education, employment, training, voluntary work and personal skills development. The measure matters because it shows whether young people are moving into something that leads to long-term opportunity rather than drifting after school.
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The council says close working with local businesses has been central to the result. Its teams have built links with young people through work tasters, placements, mentoring and sessions where pupils meet employers directly.

A key part of the approach is the Skills and Learning 33 hub. SL33 brings together school leaders, pupil support staff, employers, council services and training providers to build work skills among pupils still at school and young people who are unemployed. It has since been expanded with SL66 in Netherthird, in the former library building. The council has also merged its education and employability teams to strengthen that partnership.

Councillor Elaine Cowan, spokesperson for education and children and young people, thanked the education and employability teams, external partners and local employers for working together to help young people across East Ayrshire reach their potential. Councillors Cowan, Graham Barton and Neill Watts visited SL33 to congratulate staff on the results.

Employability manager Margorie Harvie said the area prides itself on collaborative working to get the best outcomes for young people, communities and businesses.

The result is a striking improvement for an authority that, two decades ago, lagged well behind the national average on this measure.