Employers across Glasgow are facing a growing challenge: entry-level roles are harder to fill, while many young people remain out of work or training.
The issue is not simply supply. It is how opportunities are being communicated, discovered, and accessed. National research, including the 2026 Milburn Report, has highlighted ongoing challenges in connecting young people to employment.
Across the UK, close to one million 16–24-year-olds are not in education, employment, or training. Opportunities in Glasgow exist, but they’re not reaching the young people they’re meant for. There is often a gap between how roles are presented by employers and how young people discover and engage with them.
For many young people, the path into work feels unclear and out of touch. With many young people telling us the job market feels “empty” and “difficult”. Traditional job boards are often confusing, applications can be long and repetitive, and it’s hard to know what roles are like before applying.
On the other hand, employers are struggling to connect with the next generation. Roles go live, but the right candidates don’t always see them, or don’t engage with the process.
yattle is a Glasgow-based recruitment app built specifically for young people, developed by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Glasgow City Council, and supported by the Glasgow Futures Partnership, it changes how they find and apply for jobs.
Instead of long, complicated applications, yattle brings opportunities directly to them in a way that feels quick and familiar. In a world shaped by scrolling, users can swipe through roles and apply in minutes. If they want to learn more, the app offers a “day in the life” feature, giving a real sense of what the job is like. This helps young people discover roles and career paths they might never have considered, and crucially, understand them before deciding to apply.
For employers, platforms such as yattle offer an alternative way to reach younger candidates, particularly those who may not engage with traditional job boards. Alongside advertising vacancies, there is increasing evidence that how roles are presented, including giving a clearer picture of day-to-day work, has a significant influence on who applies.
Put simply, yattle makes the link between young people and work clearer, faster and more human.
The Impact in Glasgow: City Building Case Study
The impact of this approach is already being seen in Glasgow through yattle’s partnership with City Building, one of Scotland’s largest construction and maintenance organisations, delivering building, repairs and training services across the city.
Recently, City Building received 980 applications, and almost double the previous year. This reflects a significant increase in visibility, with more young people not only seeing opportunities, but choosing to act on them.
What makes these results particularly important is the type of roles being filled. Construction has traditionally struggled to attract a diverse pipeline of talent, especially among young women.
Through yattle, that began to shift with a 116% increase in female applications, the highest ever recorded, alongside a 43% rise in applications from ethnic minority candidates.
These results point to more than just higher numbers. They show that when opportunities, even in industries like construction, are presented in a clear, accessible, and engaging way, they reach a broader and more representative group of young people.
What’s happening in Glasgow offers a useful insight for employers across Scotland. Increasingly, the challenge is not simply the number of opportunities available, but how effectively those opportunities are reaching young people.
Approaches such as yattle form part of this shift, helping employers make roles more visible and easier to engage with for younger audiences.
Organisations looking to reach a broader range of young people, improve diversity or increase visibility of roles may wish to consider how their current recruitment approach is working, and whether alternative channels could play a role.
Platforms such as yattle are one example of how employers are beginning to adapt their approach. Get in touch with the yattle team at info@yattle.co.uk to find out more.
