Employability Programme

WE KNOW THAT THE TRANSITION FROM COMPULSORY EDUCATION TO ADULTHOOD CAN BE A TURBULENT AND CONFUSING TIME FOR ANY YOUNG PERSON


And even more so for a child with caring responsibilities. That's why we run an Employability Programme, designed specifically to support young adult carers of ages 14-25.

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our employability programme is about empowering these amazing young people to dream, and to pursue their dreams

Over the course of this 8 week programme, we work with participants to help them map out their next steps and to equip them with the tools, strategies and confidence that they need to access further education, training or employment.

In addition to this, the programme helps to educate employers about young carers, the challenges they face and the extraordinary skillsets that they can bring to the workplace. If you’re an employer and want to learn more about the programme, then please get in touch with us below.

addressing the need

Young carers develop an incredible skillset at a very early age, often demonstrating remarkable compassion, resilience, maturity and organisational skills. However, according to research by Professor Joseph Sempik and Professor Saul Becker (2014), this is not reflected in their education or employment opportunities:

493
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of Young Adult Carers aged between 18 and 25 are currently unemployed

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Young carers are twice as likely to find themselves out of education, training or employment between the ages of 16 and 19 compared to their non-caring peers

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Young adult carers are four times more likely to drop out of college or university than students who are not young adult carers

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Programme overview

Download our report to learn more about our
Employability Programme

Employability Report

 LISTENING TO YOUNG CARERS  

Over the course of 3 separate forum events carried out in October 2020, we heard from 20 young carers ranging from 8 to 18 on a range of issues. In these conversations, young carers shared the following insights and concerns:
arrow-right-triangle-blk Uncertainty about the future

Many young carers did not know what they would do post-16 and appeared to lack the time, clarity of thought or motivation to make plans. Several stated that they were ‘trying not to think about it, because it’s just too overwhelming’.
 

arrow-right-triangle-blk Low self-worth & confidence

Many seemed unaware of the skillsets they had developed as carers and demonstrated low self-worth and confidence. It was noted that these young people would be ill-equipped to sell themselves to employers.
 

arrow-right-triangle-blk Self-sacrifice for those they care for

Many of the young carers we spoke to appeared to be basing major life decisions on the needs of the individual for whom they were providing care, rather than making choices based on their own ambitions and interests.
 

arrow-right-triangle-blk Aspirations limited to caring

Several young carers stated that they had been ‘born into’ their caring roles, and appeared to consider care to be their primary purpose in life.
 

arrow-right-triangle-blk Experiencing bounded agency

Many expressed concerns over enrolling in training courses, committing to employment or applying to universities, as they were nervous about leaving the person for whom they care for long periods of time or about increasing the responsibility placed on younger sibling.
 

arrow-right-triangle-blk Underperformance at school

Many felt that they were falling behind in school and, thus, were unlikely to achieve strong GCSE results. A report conducted by The Carers Trust found that young carers achieve, on average, 9 grades lower than their peers overall at GCSE, and that they attribute this directly to their caring responsibilities.
 

arrow-right-triangle-blk Career Guidance

In addition to this, according to research by Professor Joseph Sempik and Professor Saul Becker (2014) 87% of young carers felt that they had not received good career advice at school; and that the advice did not take into account their caring role.

These findings informed the design and development of MYTIME’s Employability Programme


The programme aims to create a nurturing environment where young adult carers are supported to recognise their own skills and strengths, to build an optimistic outlook on the future and to strive to achieve their goals. We continue to consult with young carers regularly to assess, evaluate and improve the programme.

The Employability Programme has been developed especially for young carers aged 14 – 25


The aims of the programme are to:


arrow-right-triangle-blk  Empower young adult carers to achieve their full personal, academic and professional potential

arrow-right-triangle-blk  Boost the self-confidence and self-worth of young carers, by helping them to appreciate the value of the skillsets they have developed through their caring roles

arrow-right-triangle-blk  Raise awareness of young carers among employers, and promote supportive and inclusive workplaces for young adult carers

We achieve these aims by offering a wide variety of learning
components through an 8-week learning programme:

Circle CV

CV Support
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CV-Writing
Workshops

Circle Interview

Interviews
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Interview Skills
Development Sessions

Circle 1 to 1

Mentoring
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1:1 Employer
Mentoring Scheme

Circle Presentations

Peer Support
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Presentation & Talks
From Young Carers

Circle Guidance

Career Guidance
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Career Guidance With A Qualified Careers Advisor

Circle Colourworks

Personality Profiling
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'Colour Works' Personality Profiling Tool

Circle Support Applications

Application Support
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Support With Applications, Training & Education

Circle Admin Support

Accessing Employment
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Support Accessing Full Or Part-time Employment

Circle Day Support

Continued Support
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Continued Individualised Support Until The Age Of 26

TESTIMONIALS

I love getting out of the house and doing activities with friends at MYTIME. It's nice to take my mind off things.

~ Sami, aged 7

“I had a fab time with MYTIME. I was so engaged that I didn’t worry about my mum or dad. It was good for me.”

~ Daniel, aged 16

“Being a young carer sometimes makes me feel frustrated because everything’s on me. I’m quick to get angry and I think that’s why. Days like today with MYTIME help me to relax.”

~ Amira, aged 9

“Sometimes people don’t understand what young carers do and they judge us. That’s when we get bullied. But at MYTIME, everyone understands.”

~ Chloe, aged 11

Are you an employer?

Alongside our work with young carers, MYTIME are also working to educate employers about the number of young people affected by caring responsibilities and the challenges they face, as well as the wealth of skills they have to offer.

Young carers demonstrate huge empathy, commitment and independence every single day. They can add enormous value and benefit to any team. It's in an employer's best interests to offer the flexible working patterns and to create the supportive working environments that will allow young carers to thrive.

There are a number of ways that employers can support MYTIME's Employability Programme:

  • offer work experience or shadowing to young carers
  • consider mentoring a young carer
  • sign up to attend our annual young carer careers convention
  • share vacancies with our employability team
  • be available to talk to young carers
  • host an inspiring talk or event for young carers


More Information
If you would like more information on MYTIME’s Employability Programme, how you can support it or to get in touch with a member of our team directly, please contact