Young Enterprise (YE) Scotland has issued redundancies for 17 employees after it was delayed in securing funding from the Scottish Government.

Earlier in the Autumn, YE Scotland issued a plea after it was left out of its normal government funding round, which funds most of its operations across Scotland. It warned that without this vital funding, it would be forced to close its doors.

After securing emergency funding to the amount of £285,000, YE Scotland was able to cover costs for the financial year and avoid closure, but still, the charity was left in uncertainty.

Since then, the organisation has cut over half of its staff, and will now deliver its range of enterprise education with a team of just 12 staff members.

“It is a huge relief that we have been able to avoid a complete closure of Young Enterprise Scotland and we are grateful to the Scottish Government for providing us with emergency funding which prevented our worst-case scenario becoming reality,” YE Scotland chief executive Emma Soanes said.

“Sadly however, this will provide little consolation to the 17 valued members of our team who have lost their jobs just weeks before Christmas.

“Losing our major income source has been an enormously unsettling and upsetting time for everyone involved, and while we try to remain positive, there is no doubt there will be challenging times ahead as we refocus and prioritise what programmes we deliver within schools and colleges on such a reduced staff model.

“We will definitely be engaging our own entrepreneurial mindsets in the coming weeks and months as we reposition ourselves within the education ecosystem and continue with our commitment to deliver financial and enterprise education from primary one and early years, right through to S6.”

The majority of funding for YE Scotland, which has been operating for over 30 years, came from a core government grant as well as from a range of trusts and foundations, and, to a lesser extent, private sector funds.

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Its normal grant process was replaced back in July with a competitive process, putting its normal funding source in jeopardy. The opening of the Entrepreneurial Education Pathways Fund in August offered other private and public sector firms grants of up to £250,000 to deliver educational courses to young people.

While this widened the opportunity for other organisations to gain financial support, YE Scotland’s bid for funding was not successful.

Following a public plea, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes announced that the government would be extending YE Scotland funding to cover its existing costs. The uncertainty in funding, however, contributed to the major reshuffle.