Young carers’ skills and creativity to be celebrated on Young Carers Action Day

The creativity of young carers and the skills they can provide employers will be celebrated on Young Carers Action Day (15 March) this year.

Held annually and organised by Carers Trust with its network of local carers organisations, Young Carers Action Day aims to raise awareness of carers aged up to 25 the challenges and pressures they face on a daily basis.

This year’s Young Carers Action Day will feature two special events organised by Carers Trust with City & Guilds and Create.

On 15 March, a joint webinar will be held from 11am to 12pm aimed at employers in the City & Guilds network. Employers will learn about the challenges young carers face and how they can be supported during the recruitment process. They will also hear directly from young carers about the unique transferable skills they have from their caring role. For more information on the webinar, visit the event page.

The event follows a collaboration by Carers Trust with City & Guilds on its employment campaign. City & Guilds’ recent Youth Misspent report revealed nearly one in five (19%) young people have been, or still are, a carer for a relative. Being a carer at a young age is impacting their education and employment trajectory, with 28% of young carers working less than eight hours a week.

Faiza Khan MBE, Director of Corporate Affairs and Foundation at City & Guilds, said: 

“Carers Trust is doing exceptionally important work to support young people who are taking on a high level of responsibility very early in their lives, and we are hugely proud to support them.  Our recent Youth Misspent research revealed the impact that taking on caring responsibilities can have on the ambitions and prospects of young people, and the challenges they face as they enter the workplace.  

“Understanding the ways in which employers, educators and government can best support young carers, and make use of the wealth of transferable skills on offer is hugely important to supporting not just those young people themselves, but the UK as a whole.”  

For a third year, Carers Trust has also been working with Create for Young Carers Action Day.

This year, Carers Trust funded four carers services across the UK to deliver creative projects with young carers during the February half term.  Participants produced art linked to Young Carers Action Day’s theme this year of “Make time for young carers”.

Their work, which includes a mix of photography, filmmaking, 3D models and visual art, will be showcased during an invite-only Zoom event on 15 March from 5pm to 5.45pm.

Nicky Goulder, founding CEO of Create, said:

“We are delighted to partner with Carers Trust again for Young Carers Action Day, ensuring that young carers’ voices and creativity are centre stage. Together, we have run projects across the four nations, including Create’s first ever project in Northern Ireland. Four groups of young carers have been empowered and upskilled through 3D model making, photography, filmmaking and visual art, giving them time away from their caring responsibilities. It’s always inspirational to see the warmth and enthusiasm participants bring to our workshops, and I have been particularly moved to see how this year’s YCAD theme, ‘make time for young carers’, resonated with each of them. What could be more important. I am delighted by the pieces they have created and the passion they have shown, and can’t wait to see these celebrated at the showcase!”

Commenting on the two events, Carers Trust’s Head of Young Carers and Young Adult Carers, Vicky Morgan, said:

“We’re delighted to be working with City & Guilds and Create for Young Carers Action Day this year. We know that having a caring role can impact the education and future employment of young people so it’s vital that events like the one with City & Guilds will help employers learn how to support them and the valuable skills they have.  Alongside this, Create have also helped the young carers we work with show off their full range of talents and we can’t wait to see what they’ve produced!”

Results of a survey of young and young adult carers released by Carers Trust on 9 March showed 56% say the amount of time they spend caring has increased in the past year, while 47% said they are now caring for more people.

On Young Carers Action Day, the charity is also asking politicians to sign up to a five-point pledge committing them to supporting children and young people in a caring role. Additionally, Carers Trust alongside young carers will be going to Downing Street to hand in an open letter for the Prime Minister on Young Carers Action Day calling for him to do more to help.

For further information, contact Mark Chandler, mchandler@carers.org and 07712 427808

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Carers Trust

Carers Trust is the UK charity working to transform the lives of unpaid carers across the UK.  It partners with its network of local carer organisations to provide funding and support, deliver innovative and evidence-based programmes and raise awareness & influence policy.​ Carers Trust’s vision is that unpaid carers are heard and valued, with access to support, advice and resources to enable them to live fulfilled lives.

Carers Trust hosts the Young Carers Alliance, a network of over 150 organisations and 300 individuals committed to improving identification and support for young carers and young adult carers. Carers Trust also hosts the Scottish Young Carers Services Alliance, an informal network of young carers services across Scotland. It has 51 members who provide support to young carers.

 

About City & Guilds

For over 140 years we have worked with people, organisations and economies to help them identify and develop the skills they need to thrive. We understand the life changing link between skills development, social mobility, prosperity and success so everything we do is focused on developing and delivering high-quality training, qualifications and credentials that lead to jobs and meet the changing needs of industry.

We partner with our customers to deliver work-based learning programmes that build competency to support better prospects for people, organisations and wider society. We create flexible learning pathways that support lifelong employability, because we believe that people deserve the opportunity to (re)train and (re)learn again and again – gaining new skills at every stage of life, regardless of where they start. 

City & Guilds Foundation activities amplify our purpose by helping to remove barriers to getting into a job, celebrating best practice on the job, and advocating for jobs of the future.   

The City & Guilds community of brands includes Gen2, ILM, Intertrain, Kineo and The Oxford Group.

 

About Create 

Create is the UK’s leading charity empowering lives, reducing isolation and enhancing wellbeing through the creative arts. Create’s professional artists run creative arts projects with children and adults facing challenges in their lives. They are given a chance to express themselves, build skills, meet other people and nurture their wellbeing through animation, dance, drama, music, painting, photography and a host of other artforms. Unleashing creativity ignites imaginations, develops confidence and builds relationships. Create believes that everyone – regardless of circumstances, behaviour, age, gender, race or disability – should have access to the power of creativity.  To find out more, visit https://createarts.org.uk/