New survey targets Highlands and Islands young folk

An online survey to explore the changing aspirations of young people and their attitudes to the Highlands and Islands has been launched.

The researchers aim to find out what people aged 15-30 think about education, jobs, quality of life and cost of living in the region.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has commissioned the research, which will show whether the attitudes and aspirations of the region’s young people have changed since a previous study six years ago.

In 2009, the agency undertook a study to explore the migration choices of over 3,000 15-30 year-olds with links to the Highlands and Islands. This showed that around 1,500 more young people within this age range leave the region each year than choose to move in.

The previous study also showed that the aspirations of young people in the Highlands and Islands did not differ significantly from those living elsewhere in Scotland, and that migration choices were largely determined by education, training and employment opportunities.

The findings of the Young People and the Highlands and Islands research will be used by HIE and others to inform further policy development.

The research should be complete by summer 2015. More information and the link to the survey can be found at www.hie.co.uk/HaveYourSay