Young Carers Futures
What Carers Trust is doing to create learning, training and employment opportunities for young adult carers
Why has Carers Trust set up a Young Carers Futures programme?
Accessing learning and training opportunities as a first step towards finding a career can be hard for any young person.
But for young people who have grown up juggling study with a caring role at home it can be especially challenging.
That’s because, when it comes to studying for exams, they just don’t have the time to revise that their friends without caring responsibilities have. When they get home they will have a list of things to get done for a sick or disabled parent or sibling before they can open their books.
In fact, research shows that on average, young carers achieve one grade lower per subject at GCSE than their peers without a caring role.
But think about it for a moment. Young people who’ve grown up caring have an array of skills and attributes that are invaluable to employers. For example, they are brilliant multi-taskers – because they have to be. They know how to get their schoolwork done while also having to do the family food shop, cook meals for the family and make sure a parent has the right medication.
They are also reliable and punctual. When someone’s health depends on a young carer being in the right place at the right time, they have to be. Responsibility is natural to young carers.
What young and young adult carers need is that extra bit of support to help them access training opportunities. Career insight days internships and similar opportunities really make a difference in helping young adult carers build their confidence and show what they can do when they’re given an opportunity.
Watch our video where young adult carers describe their internships at Carers Trust
Young Carers Futures – supporting young adult carers into training and career opportunities
Young Carers Futures is a Carers Trust programme that brings together young adult carers with some of the UK’s leading brands and employers.
It is the only UK-wide programme focused on raising awareness amongst employers, training providers and educators of the impact caring has on young people and how it can impact life chances without the right support.
Launched in 2021, it supports young adult carers through critical transition points with improving access to employment and training opportunities.
We have worked alongside employers and stakeholders across the employment and youth work landscape to deliver bespoke support to young adults carers, unlocking potential and widening access to opportunities.
Find out more about Young Carers Futures
Here’s what our Young Carers Futures programme has achieved so far
- 78 activities delivered in partnership with employers.
- 280 Young Adult Carers accessed employability activities.
- 17 Interns roles at Carers Trust.
- 36 employed with our employer partners.
Watch young adult carers talk about their experiences of our Employability Programme
Are you an employer? What you can do to support young adult carers into training and employment
Carers Trust wants to collaborate with employers to create brighter futures for young carers. By working with us, you will help you to increase:
- Visibility: raise awareness in your organisation and develop carer friendly recruitment & retention practices.
- Recognition: Feed into our nation-wide strategic oversight group, influencing change to key policy makers.
- Opportunities: Build aspiration, skills, pathways and jobs to employment to young adult carers.
We want to hear from employers who are ready to take significant action to support young carers across the UK.
Please contact Daisy Falconer, at youngcarers@carers.org