Work and jobs for care leavers

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We want to help you reach your goals, learn new skills and gain work experience.

Your personal adviser (PA) can help you find jobs and explain benefits you may get. You’ll talk about work and write your goals in your pathway plan.

If you’re not sure what you want to do, start with the National Careers Service. It has job profiles, pay information and advice on job hunting, interviews and writing a CV.

If you have a Jobcentre work coach, they can help you find jobs and claim benefits. You can also get up to £100 for one set of interview clothes - ask your work coach.

You can give consent for your work coach to speak to your PA.

Speak to your PA to find out what financial support you can get and support from the Care Leavers’ Service (CLS).

Writing a CV

You can find CV templates online.

If you don't have a lot of work experience, include things like:

volunteering
hobbies
clubs and activities
the skills you learned

The CLS and Surrey Virtual School use a careers tool to help PAs support you to create and update your CV.

Ask your PA if you want help.

Job sites

Here are some places to look for jobs:

Interview preparation

Tell your PA if you have a job interview. They can help you practice.

There are lots of interview tips online.

Think about:

Dress smartly - first impressions count
Arrive early - plan your journey
Research the company - show interest
Prepare your answers - use examples of your skills

Free interview clothes

The Lighthouse Style Studio in Woking offers free one-to-one support and high quality clothes for interviews or everyday life.

Ask your PA or book an appointment online.

Useful tips to get your job:

Youth Hubs

Youth Hubs offer:

careers advice
coaching
training
job opportunities

They support young people aged 18 to 24 in Surrey.

They also work with local businesses to offer jobs and training.

Ask your PA if you want to go to a Youth Hub in Surrey.

If you live outside Surrey, see the list of Youth Hubs on GOV.UK.

Opportunities for care leavers

User Voice and Participation Team

They send monthly job opportunities to the Care Leavers’ Service (CLS).

Your PA will share any roles they think are right for you and can help you apply.

Education and employment adviser

CLS has an adviser who can support you with:

looking for jobs
applying for jobs
feeling confident
finding paid or unpaid roles

Personal coaches (Virtual School)

The Virtual School has Personal Coaches for care leavers who turn 18 in the current school year.

They can help you explore your interests and apply for work

Care Leaver Covenant - Connects

The Care Leaver Covenant supports care leavers aged 16 to 25 to live independently.

Surrey signed up in April 2022.

Connects helps you:

find jobs
get training
link with support
match to opportunities

You can also enter monthly prize draws.

See Surrey’s Care Leaver Covenant.

Building Happier Futures

Surrey works with John Lewis on the Building Brighter Futures Programme.

You can get:

work experience and
a guaranteed interview at John Lewis or Waitrose stores in Surrey.

Many care leavers have found work through this programme.

Ask your PA about this opportunity.

STEP Surrey Team

STEP Surrey supports care-experienced young people who live in Surrey.

They can help you:

find jobs
find training courses
gain skills and qualifications
get personalised help applying for work
stay in work (including help with health or upskilling)

Use the STEP Surrey contact form to get support.

Contact STEP Surrey

Civil Service Internships for care leavers

The Civil Service Care Leavers Internship Scheme offers 18 month paid jobs in government departments.

Interns may be made permanent after 12 months.

Benefits include:

building work skills
learning opportunities
meeting new people

Find out about Civil Service internships for care leavers.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a good way to:

build skills
gain experience
meet new people

It can also help you try out different types of work.

You can find opportunities on:

Local opportunities in Surrey:

Central Surrey Voluntary Action – Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley
Voluntary Action South West Surrey – Guildford and Waverley
Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead
Voluntary Support North West Surrey - Runnymede, Surrey Heath, Spelthorne
Volunteer Plus - Woking
Tandridge Voluntary Action

Support when you start work

You may get financial help to make work easier.

Travel costs

You can get help with travel costs for the first 4 weeks of your job.

Your PA can also help you look at cheaper fares, like a 16 to 25 Railcard. This costs £30 a year or £70 for 3 years and saves you a third on train fares.

Disclaimer: as the translations linked above are provided by Google Translate, Surrey County Council cannot be held responsible for their accuracy.

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