Youth Highland

What Youth Highland does

Youth Highland is a Scottish registered charity (SC027712), founded in 1985 and headquartered in Dingwall, that operates as an area association of Youth Scotland to support youth work across the Highland region. Its core delivery model is community-led, channelled through the Voluntary Youth Network (VYN) of 160+ member groups, 8 Area Youth HUBs aligned to Highland Community Partnership areas, and direct youth work programmes. The organisation functions as an Operating Agency for the Scottish Qualifications Authority, delivering accredited youth awards (Hi-5, Dynamic Youth, Youth Achievement Awards at SCQF levels 2-8) and offers accredited training including a PDA Level 6 in Youth Work. It also operates targeted programmes such as Bright Ideas (employability), Young Grant Makers, the Safe Spaces Consultation, and partnership-based initiatives including work with Crocus Group on grief resources and Bairns Hoose on safe spaces provision.

The organisation's principal technology asset is the Youth Work RPG, an award-winning interactive online role-playing game delivered across browser, Android, and desktop platforms. The RPG provides a structured digital environment in which young people explore themes including drugs and alcohol, consent, cyber safety, resilience, and UNCRC human rights. Beyond the RPG, Youth Highland's technology footprint consists of a conventional charity website and the standard administrative tooling required to manage SQA award registrations, memberships, and grant compliance. There is no disclosed AI/ML capability, proprietary model, or data flywheel; the digital product is interactive content rather than an adaptive system.

Youth Highland's revenue model is grant-dependent, with funding drawn from The Corra Foundation, The National Lottery, HADP, Inspiring Scotland, YouthLink Scotland, and Scottish Government funds. Ancillary income is generated through annual membership subscriptions from VYN member clubs (which automatically confer Youth Scotland network membership) and transaction-based charges for SQA accredited award registrations. The organisation operates with a small core team of 5-7 staff, making it capacity-constrained relative to the regional footprint it serves; scalability depends materially on continued grant cycles rather than commercial revenue capture.

Name

Youth Highland

Legal name

Youth Highland

Website

https://youthhighland.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Youth Highland is a Scottish charity founded in 1985 that supports youth work across the Highland region through a Voluntary Youth Network of 160+ member groups, 8 Area Youth HUBs, SQA accredited awards, and programmes including an award-winning digital Youth Work RPG.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dingwall

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Youth Highland relies primarily on grant funding from government bodies and foundations. Major funders include The Corra Foundation, The National Lottery, HADP (Highland Alcohol and Drug Partnership), Bairns Hoose through Highland Child Protection Committee, YouthLink Scotland, Inspiring Scotland, and Scottish Government Rural Communities Ideas Into Action fund.
2. Membership Fees: Youth Highland operates an area association membership model. Youth Highland member groups automatically gain membership of the national Youth Scotland network and receive a range of benefits regionally and nationally.
3. Award Registration Charges: There is a registration charge for SQA accredited youth awards administered through Youth Highland as an Operating Agency.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Youth Highland is a Scottish charity that supports voluntary youth clubs and groups across the Highland region through a network of Area Youth HUBs and the Voluntary Youth Network of 160+ groups. The organisation delivers accredited SQA youth awards, training programmes (including PDA Level 6 in Youth Work), youth-led projects (Bright Ideas, Young Grant Makers Scheme), and digital learning tools such as the award-winning Youth Work RPG. Services are delivered in community settings, schools, and online, and include safeguarding support, governance guidance, and consultation work for children and young people.

Product overview

Youth Highland operates as a youth work support organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs, training services, and networks. The core offerings include accredited youth awards (Hi-5, Dynamic Youth Awards, Youth Achievement Awards, and PDA Level 6) delivered through Area Youth HUBs and the Voluntary Youth Network (160+ groups). Youth-led initiatives such as Bright Ideas and The Artique Collective provide funding and support for young people to lead their own projects. The organization provides training programs including UNCRC rights training and online youth work safety, along with consultation services and safeguarding support for member clubs. A digital learning tool, the award-winning Youth Work RPG, provides interactive online youth work resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Youth Work RPG: Award-winning interactive online role-playing game developed in partnership with young people to explore issues including drugs and alcohol, consent and relationships, cyber safety, resilience and UNCRC.
• The Artique Collective
• Bright Ideas

Products and services

• Bright Ideas A youth-led projects programme in Highland, Scotland that gives young people funding (up to £3,000) and support to design and deliver their own community projects. Over 120 young people were involved across four projects in Year 1, including a youth art gallery, Christmas Grotto, creative youth magazine, and a new youth action group.
• Youth Work RPG An award-winning interactive online role-playing game developed by Youth Highland in partnership with young people. It provides a safe digital space to explore challenging issues such as drugs and alcohol, consent and relationships, cyber safety, resilience and UNCRC human rights. Players participate in issue-based challenges and can create their own mini-games; available via browser (itch.io), Android and Windows/Chromebook.
• Young Grant Makers Scheme A grant-making programme in which young people plan, assess applications, make funding decisions and evaluate impact for youth-led projects across Highland. Distributed £78,539 to 32 youth-led projects across Highland Community Partnership areas.
• Safe Spaces Consultation A funded youth consultation service that captures the views of children and young people on what makes a safe space and which UNCRC rights matter most. The March–April 2025 consultation reached 277 young people aged 9–25 in Highland and influenced the regional child protection strategy.
• Area Youth HUBs A network of area youth hubs taking leadership in youth work delivery across Highland's 9 Community Partnership areas, supporting the development of high-quality youth centres and providing local coordination of youth services. Currently supports 8 emerging HUBs across Caithness, Sutherland, Easter Ross, Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey, and Lochaber.
• Voluntary Youth Network (VYN) A partnership network of voluntary youth sector organisations launched in 2017 with 32 founding members, now comprising over 160 actively involved groups across Highland. Supports collaboration, shared improvement planning, networking events and collective action to improve outcomes for young people and communities.
• Accredited Youth Awards Nationally recognised SQA accredited youth awards delivered as an Operating Agency, including Hi-5 (ages 5+), Dynamic Youth Awards (ages 10+) and Youth Achievement Awards at bronze, silver, gold and platinum levels (SCQF levels 2–8). Youth Highland provides training, internal verification and registration support for youth workers to deliver the awards.
• PDA Level 6 in Youth Work An 8-session Professional Development Award in youth work delivered in partnership with Youth Scotland. Appropriate for practitioners with prior youth work experience and requires practical delivery plus three written assessments based on reflection of own practice.
• Delivering Online Youth Work Safely A half-day training course (online or in-person) for youth workers covering the benefits of online youth work, appropriate use of digital platforms, keeping young people safe online, planning and evaluation, and responding to safeguarding concerns.
• Know Your Rights - UNCRC Training Youth work sessions helping young people explore, understand and exercise their rights through UNCRC articles and lived-experience scenarios drawn from 'Where's Your Head At?', using a human rights lens to discuss how experiences affect wellbeing.
• The Grief Brief A youth-led training resource developed in partnership with Crocus Group that helps adults support bereaved young people. Includes films sharing young people's stories, exercises and a 5-step process called 'The Grief Brief'.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 120 young people involved in building skills and leading projects through Bright Ideas Year 1
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Highland Child Protection Committee (Bairns Hoose)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Funded by Bairns Hoose through Highland Child Protection Committee. Youth Highland carried out Safe Spaces Consultation with 277 young people aged 9-25 from March-April 2025 to understand what constitutes a safe space for young people.
• Youth ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth Highland is an area association of Youth Scotland. Youth Scotland supports a large network of voluntary sector community-based youth clubs across Scotland. Any Youth Highland member group automatically gains membership of Youth Scotland network and receives regional and national benefits.
• YouthLink ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouthLink Scotland is the national agency for youth work in Scotland, responsible for creating and reviewing the national youth work strategy. Youth Highland partners with YouthLink to deliver PDA in youth work and has received funding to support Area Youth HUBs gain skills to deliver nationally accredited awards.
• Crocus GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth Highland collaborated with Crocus Group to develop youth-led resources and tools for adults to support bereaved young people. Young people developed training materials including films, exercises, and 'The Grief Brief' - a 5-step process for supporting bereaved young people.
• CLD Standards CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLD Standards Council is responsible for supporting improved standards of CLD practice in Scotland. Youth Highland is the only organisation in Highland to hold the CLD Standards Mark.
• Education ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth Highland uses Education Scotland's 'How Good Is Our CLD?' quality framework. HMIE uses this framework for scrutiny activities.
• Highland Council, NHS, Police, Children's Reporter Service PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-sector partnership developing Children and Young People's Participation Strategy. Partnership includes council, NHS, Police, children's reporter service and Third Sector committed to greater active participation of children and young people in planning and service delivery.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO): National membership body for Scotland's third sector. Comparable as a representative and capacity-building umbrella for voluntary organisations including youth-focused charities.
• Inspiring Scotland: Scottish charity that develops and manages social investment funds for disadvantaged groups. Comparable as a funder/partner Youth Highland has worked with through the Rural and Island Communities Ideas Into Action fund.
• Voluntary Action Scotland: National umbrella supporting volunteering and voluntary action across Scotland. Comparable as a sector support body that interacts with and enables youth-focused voluntary organisations.

Direct peers

• Young Scot: Scottish national youth information and citizenship charity for young people aged 11-26. Comparable mission around youth voice, rights (UNCRC), and engagement, though operating at national scale versus Highland's regional focus.
• Youth Scotland: National membership network for voluntary community-based youth clubs in Scotland. Youth Highland is an area association of Youth Scotland, sharing the same membership, accreditation, and youth club support model.

Broad incumbents

• UK Youth: National umbrella for youth organisations in the UK. Operates in a broader UK-wide remit but shares the mission of supporting voluntary youth work and accredited youth awards delivery.
• YouthLink Scotland: National agency for youth work in Scotland, responsible for the national youth work strategy. Comparable as a sector umbrella with which Youth Highland partners to deliver accredited training.
• National Youth Agency (NYA): England's national body for youth work. Comparable as the standards-setting and training body for youth work, providing accredited qualifications and sector advocacy that parallels Youth Highland's training role.
• Children in Scotland: National membership organisation working to improve children's wellbeing and rights in Scotland. Comparable as a policy and capacity-building body for organisations serving children and young people.

Regional players

• Highland Third Sector Interface: Regional interface body supporting third sector organisations in Highland. Comparable regional counterpart in the same geography, focused on community organisation support and capacity building.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubesoundcloud.com/coral-allan-204153492
• Xx.com/youthhighland
• Facebookfacebook.com/youthhighland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youth-highland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Youth Highland