Jobs and Support for Care Leavers: Empowering young people through job opportunities

Jobs for Care Leavers

As a care leaver, finding your next steps onto the career ladder can seem daunting. However, there is a wealth of opportunities and support for care leavers searching for a job. The right support can open new doors for financial independence and a career where you can thrive.

Here at Churchill, we are passionate about empowering young people, doing right and ensuring there are inclusive opportunities for all. We recognise not everyone has had the same experiences or advantages in life, and seek to honour the strength in this diversity.

To ensure working with us is inclusive, welcoming and supportive, we are proud to have partnered with the Care Leavers Covenant and the Drive Forward Foundation.

Read on for more information on jobs for care leavers, including with Churchill, or whichever employer is right for you.

Empowering young people through the Care Leavers Covenant

Last year, we signed the Care Leavers Covenant, which is a national programme to support care leavers aged 16-25 so they can live independently. We value the different experiences that care leavers have to offer and through the scheme we are committed to their empowerment.

In practice, this means Churchill provides flexible job vacancies, mentoring, coaching, on-the-job training, CV writing support, networking and work experience opportunities as support for care leavers.

Achieve your full potential with the Drive Forward Foundation (DFF)

As part of our commitment to the Care Leavers Covenant, we have partnered with the Drive Forward Foundation. This is a charity in London that works with businesses, empowering young people to transition from care into the world of work and realise their true potential, regardless of background or circumstances.

Through this partnership, we have developed support for care leavers to apply for roles here at Churchill. The process of putting words on a page to write an application and secure the first interview can feel daunting, so we decided to boost support with a guaranteed interview. We hope this will encourage care leavers to take a chance on going for that role.

We also held an Insight Day at our London office for care-experienced young people to come and get to know our business and meet some of our hiring managers.

We know interviews are no one’s favourite activity, so we held mock interviews for candidates to practise in a safe and welcoming space. They told us it boosted their confidence for the interviews they later attended – three young people successfully gained roles with Wandsworth Town Hall, John Lewis and HMRC!

We are also delighted that two candidates from this day are now being welcomed into roles in our transport division at Churchill. They will be supported by our buddy scheme to settle in, as well as by the Drive Forward Foundation.

Support for care leavers through mentoring and apprenticeships

They say it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Not everyone has the advantage of a vast network of contacts to get advice from, and we strongly believe in closing that gap.

Here at Churchill, 8 colleagues from across our transport and London regions mentor care experienced young people. This means regular meetings for advice from someone with business experience. We want to give support for care leavers to forge a career in whatever you feel passionate about.

Having a trusted mentor to talk through your ideas can really help, and may even spark something you hadn’t thought of before.

We are also developing an apprenticeship for a Drive Forward Foundation candidate and look forward to announcing more information soon.

Jobs for Care Leavers at Churchill

We believe in empowering young people to take the next steps in their job search, whether that be with Churchill or another employer.

With a wide range of job opportunities available at Churchill, we offer full training and support for care leavers, to enable you to progress through your career with us. Read more about our inclusive opportunities.