New scheme to help young people leaving care

A landmark government scheme will see see leading businesses, including Amazon, Rolls-Royce and Barclays LifeSkills, support care leavers to raise their career aspirations.

Children’s and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi has set out an ambition for the scheme, which has the backing of 65 businesses, to create 10,000 work opportunities over the next ten years helping young people leaving care gain vital skills and experiences as they enter the jobs market.

The Care Leaver Covenant is part of an unprecedented package of support for young people leaving care and smooth their transition into adulthood, with current figures showing that 40 per cent of care leavers aged 19-21 are not in education, employment or training (NEET), compared to 13 per cent for the overall age group.

Zahawi said: “Becoming an adult is a daunting and challenging time for all of us, but I know from speaking to many young people leaving care, this transition can feel like facing a cliff edge. This is a landmark moment on how businesses can support care leavers, who through no fault of their own have been dealt a difficult hand in life.

“Young people leaving care have often overcome huge challenges but struggle to achieve the same positive outcomes in life as their peers, which is simply not fair. When we talk about burning injustices, this is what we mean - so we need to be more ambitious for these young people. Working with businesses, charities and every government department, our new Covenant will improve the offer we make to these young people, through work placements, skills training or access to university so that they can fulfil their potential and flourish as adults.”