People's Postcode Lottery insight day for Young Adult Carers

People’s Postcode Lottery (PPL) ran a careers insight day for eight Young Adult Carers in their Edinburgh offices on 14 July 2022.

The day consisted of many talks and activities, including creative workshops and a careers panel. The wealth of information provided throughout the insight day will be perfect to help the young adult carers with their future aspirations. 

A volunteer from PPL said that it was eye-opening “being able to hear first-hand about what it means to be a young carer, and most importantly - they're not looking for sympathy, they want understanding and support.” The insight day was a great opportunity for young adult carers to get their foot in the door and get some industry knowledge across multiple sectors. The young adult carers thoroughly enjoyed their day in the office and a spokesperson from PPL said the day was a great success.  

One of the young adult carers said “the day out was great. It was amazing the see the new office in Edinburgh, it was interesting to find out a little about the work they do in person and learning a little about the individuals we spent our time with while in the office.” It seems that the general consensus was that the day was incredibly helpful for those who attended. Even those who volunteered at the insight day thought the day was worthwhile. “I'm proud that via People's Postcode Lottery we're able to support these amazing good causes, and invest our time in building relationships that add value beyond the monetary support!” 

The activities held were varied and a chance to gain insight of the work across multiple teams of people within the company. During the creative workshop, the young people designed some promotional materials for the Scottish Young Carers Festival (SYCF), which took place from 2-4 August. The event was highly anticipated as it was a chance for young carers to get some well-deserved respite and fun, as well as it being the first in-person event since before the Covid-19 pandemic. In an ever-growing digital world, the opportunity to design digital promotional materials for the SYCF will have been especially valuable.  

The young adult carers also attended a careers panel which included a Q&A with staff from PPL. The panel was led by the Head of the Charities Team, Lead Product Owner and Communications Officer. The young adult carers also had the opportunity to speak with the Customer Experience team: "Acting out the phone calls they receive on a day to day basis was interesting.” 

“I really enjoyed the experience and the people there were so friendly. It was also good to get the experience of talking to each other as if we were actually on the phone with a customer. I also liked the company's staff sharing their story and how even if you don't go down the right path in your career, you still have time and can do what you love. It was also great to have a more personal chat with some of the workers over lunch as it gave a real insight into their lives and was very inspiring.”- Mo Colvin (YC Support Worker) 

Young Carers Futures is an ambitious programme that seeks to level the playing field for young adult carers. We are working side by side with employers such as PPL to deliver inclusive employability and early career opportunities.

More details about the programme

Written by Sam Parsons, Communications Intern at Carers Trust