Working for Carers supported 1,266 unpaid carers and former carers, across all 33 London boroughs, to move into or closer to employment. The project was funded by the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund between October 2016 and June 2023, as part of the Building Better Opportunities programme. Working for Carers was delivered by Carers Trust in partnership with four Network Partners (local carer organisations): Camden Carers Service; Carers Lewisham; Harrow Carers; and Redbridge Carers Support Service.
Carers accessed free support, tailored to meet their individual needs. This included: help with job-searching, applications & CVs, and interview techniques; wellbeing support; IT skills; and access to training and volunteering opportunities.
Over 82% were economically inactive (not in employment or actively job-searching) when they registered with the project, and most had been out of work for many years. The project focussed on building confidence and skills, as well as supporting carers to address barriers to employment. By the end of the project:
- 50% had started actively job-searching, with 17% exiting the project to job-search independently
- 59% undertook training whilst supported by the project, and 14% accessed volunteering opportunities; 13% exited the project into training or education
- 22% were supported to move into employment
- 72% said they had sustained employment for 26 out of 32 weeks after exiting the project.
Participants who moved into employment, job-searching and/or training completed a satisfaction survey: 86% reported that their confidence had improved; and 82% said their skills had improved.
The project was evaluated by Ecorys (2017-2019) and Wavehill (2019-2022). All evaluation reports are available to download.
Find some examples of how the Working for Carers project helped unpaid carers in London. Read their stories.
