Youngsters have voices heard as survey shows over half plan to leave the region
A recent council survey gathered opinions from over 10,000 young people
Last updated 6th Jul 2023
More than half of young people across Dumfries & Galloway plan to leave the region, according to a recent survey which heard from over 10,000 local 10-25 year olds.
The survey was conducted by the Youthwork team from Dumfries & Galloway Council, following on from a similar effort in 2018.
Findings show 55.1% of respondents voted ‘No’ to the question ‘do you plan to stay in Dumfries and Galloway in the future?'
Top reasons for those planning to leave include travel, study, and work.
Council Convenor Malcolm Johnstone says he hopes many of those who do leave will return to the region, just as he did:
“Inevitably with young people keen to broaden their horizons, I think we're always going to have a situation where young people want to travel.
"I'm a person who did that. I was educated in Dumfries and I moved away to university and worked away, but then I came back to Dumfries and Galloway.”
Councillor Johnstone added: “We’ve got to build the local economy and we've got to strengthen the education offer in the region to try to retain young people.
“I've said it before, you know, our young people are one of Dumfries & Galloway’s biggest exports, and it’s not actually a situation that I'm entirely happy with.
“So we do need to work hard with education and building the economy.”
Those who leave might return
When asked if they planned to come back to Dumfries & Galloway, 49.7% of young people said they were ‘undecided’, with 25.1% voting for ‘yes’.
Erin, a 22-year-old from the Stewartry, has done exactly that.
She said: “When I saw that there was a paid internship local to me and not a big commute at all in something like the arts I was like, oh - I wasn’t expecting Dumfries & Galloway to be the location for that, so that was really refreshing!
“There are lots of opportunities so just getting an entry into learning about a sector, doesn’t specifically have to be the arts in D&G, but I think just getting one point of interest can really expose all the avenues and channels that might be possible.”
Now into new job, Erin's pleased to be carving out a promising career in marketing, with hopes to remain in the region in the imminent future.
The council has already begun consultations and conversations since the findings were published.
They say they’re dedicated to taking feedback on board to develop opportunities for young people across the region.