YOUNGSTERS who find work on a zero-hours contract after leaving school should not be classed as having achieved a “positive destination” in Scottish Government statistics, Labour has claimed.
Education spokesman Iain Gray said the current method for measuring what teenagers do after school regarded “almost any job, no matter how temporary or insecure, as a success”.
A major overhaul of the system is needed, he added, saying the current criteria is “no longer fit for purpose”.
Gray said: “SNP ministers have long hidden behind ‘positive destination’ statistics which count almost any job, no matter how temporary or insecure, as a success.
“We can’t start to improve outcomes until we know what a successful transition from education to employment is.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The gap between the most and least deprived school leavers going into positive follow-up destinations has almost halved since 2009-10.
“We are committed to creating a culture of fair work throughout all workplaces in Scotland which discourages the use of exploitative zero-hours contracts."
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