Local commitments to supporting care leavers in employment
Our Commitment to Supporting Care Leavers
We are committed to creating meaningful career pathways for care leavers within the council and its wholly owned subsidiaries. We also encourage our partners and contracted providers to adopt the same commitment.
We demonstrate this commitment by:
- Actively targeting roles through our recruitment processes that offer career opportunities for care leavers.
- Offering both paid and unpaid work experience placements.
- Creating apprenticeships specifically ringfenced for care-experienced young people.
- Developing alternative recruitment methods, such as work trials, to remove barriers to employment.
- Providing flexible funding to support travel, training, and equipment needs for entry into work or education.
- Facilitating access to social value funds through a bursary-style scheme to support entry into work.
- Offering structured opportunities such as apprenticeships, work experience, and employment within our traded companies.
- Hosting regular engagement events to encourage employer pledges across the wider community.
- Embedding expectations and targets at Senior Leadership level to ensure sustained commitment.
This statement reflects our ongoing dedication to improving outcomes for care leavers and ensuring they are supported in achieving their full potential.
Partner Commitment to Supporting Care Leavers
Southend-on-Sea City Council and its wholly owned subsidiaries are dedicated to improving the life chances of care leavers by creating clear and supportive career pathways. We invite and encourage our partners and contracted providers to join us in this commitment.
As a valued partner, you can support this shared goal by:
- Proactively identifying and promoting roles within your organisation that are suitable for care leavers.
- Offering flexible support such as funding for travel, training, or equipment to help care leavers access work or education.
- Providing structured opportunities including apprenticeships, work experience, and employment placements.
- Participating in engagement events to pledge your support and share best practices with other employers.
- Creating apprenticeships specifically ringfenced for care-experienced young people.
- Exploring alternative recruitment methods, such as work trials, to make opportunities more accessible.
- Offering both paid and unpaid work experience placements to build skills and confidence.
- Aligning with our shared expectations and targets to ensure consistent and meaningful support.
- Contributing to bursary-style schemes through social value commitments to help care leavers transition into employment.
Together, we can make a lasting difference by opening doors and removing barriers for care-experienced young people in our community.