'The best way to stop a gun, a gang or a knife' is simple yet profound
When people get work and support to sustain it, involvement in crime drops sharply
Scotland’s weather – and Storm Eowyn in particular – eventually did for my chimney. Once the harling came off, it was obvious it was unstable. My dreams were full of the Wicked Witch of the West and a house collapsing on top of her.
Fortunately, seven years ago, I’d found a builder, Grant, a real craftsman. Skilled, patient, punctual and proud of his work. I love watching him because when he lays bricks or replaces a roof tile, you see decades of learning. He works mostly alone, bringing in help only when needed. He works hard, in all weathers.
He’s in his sixth decade now. No one in his family wants to follow him into the trade. “When I go, that’s it,” he told me. I asked why he’d never taken on an apprentice. He’d be brilliant at it: a great teacher. The issue wasn’t only about cost. It was skills: the basic, essential ones you can’t fake.
Doing the things that AI can’t
Timekeeping, for a start. If he says he’s leaving at 7am, you must be there. If you’re not, he goes alone. These boundaries matter. If an apprentice is late, a job is late, clients get let down, reputations damaged. A small example, but it speaks to the discipline and pride that runs through his and so many of our trades.
I recently met a powerhouse of a woman from Fife College which is producing young people with not only technical ability but the personal skills that lead to sustainable work: communication, teamwork, problem-solving, time management.
Many didn’t thrive in traditional classrooms, but with support and purpose they’re developing the next generation of Scots who can build houses, fix chimneys, lay roads – essential things that AI can’t do.
The numbers tell their own story. The unemployment rate for 16-24-year-olds in Scotland is 10.4 per cent. The economic inactivity rate is 37.6 per cent, including students, the long-term sick, young carers and discouraged workers, those who’ve searched so long they’ve given up. That last group feels the saddest of all.
The path back to a steady life
Greg Boyle, of Homeboy Industries, the world’s largest gang-exit programme, has a phrase on their shirts: “The best way to stop a gun, or a gang, or a knife is a job.” Evidence backs him: when people get work and support to sustain it, involvement in crime drops sharply.
I meet young people who’ve touched the justice system and need structure, income and hope. They need a job, a career – a chance. Convictions hold people back, but with support from justice agencies and the third sector, employers take people on and keep them, giving them a route back to steady, predictable lives.
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Colleges across Scotland are doing phenomenal work. West Lothian and Ayrshire colleges are frequently mentioned to me too, bringing skills in trauma awareness, neurodiversity and understanding care journeys to support the craftsmen and artisans of the future.
These skills and talents don’t appear by accident. They’re built, passed on, fought for. And if we want a Scotland with more motivated young people (and fewer unstable chimneys), we need to back the places and people doing the slow, patient work of teaching and supporting the next generation. The future we talk about won’t be built by AI. It’ll be built by them.
Karyn McCluskey is chief executive of Community Justice Scotland