Young people leaving care will again be directly offered the
opportunity to work at central government departments, as
applications today open for this year’s Care Leaver Internship
Scheme.
More than 500 internship opportunities for care leavers will be
available at the heart of Government, including at the Department
for Education and Department for Work and Pensions, amongst
almost 20 departments and agencies.
The 12-month paid internships are aimed at helping care leavers
to develop skills and competences that support them into
long-term jobs. Applications will be open from Monday 7 September
to Monday 5 October.
The scheme aims to address statistics that show that care leavers
are more than three times more likely than their peers not to be
in education, employment or training (NEET).
Children’s Minister
said:
“At this time of global pandemic we must all intensify our
efforts to support the vulnerable, and young people leaving care
are among the most vulnerable in our society. Too often they do
not have the same opportunities or connections with potential
employers as those with stable families, they risk becoming
unemployed and left behind.
We cannot let this happen, so as well as increasing support for
care leavers as they become adults, Government Departments have
worked to create real and practical opportunities to give care
leavers a head start with a first job. This year’s care leavers
internship scheme is more than double that of previous
years.
“Today, as we open applications to these internships, we
are creating new opportunities for these young people and giving
them the chance to fulfil their ambitions – no matter the
obstacles they have faced.”
This year’s internship scheme will offer more than 500 places,
and follows the first meeting of the cross-Government Care Leaver
Covenant Board, co-chaired by Education Secretary and
Minister for the Cabinet Office , which will continue to look at access to better
housing, healthcare and employment opportunities for young people
leaving care.
Last year the Education Secretary committed to expanding the
Internship Scheme, which has offered more than 250 opportunities
to care leavers across Whitehall since 2017.
Further information:
- The Government has
supported care leavers through the £3.7 billion that has been
made available to local authorities to deal with COVID-19
pressures, including support for young people leaving care.
- We have also allocated
£100 million to support access to remote education and social
care services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including to provide
routers and laptops to care leavers.
- As part of the
Government’s rough sleeping and homelessness strategy, we have
also made £750,000 available to 47 local authorities to help care
leavers at risk of becoming homeless in 2020-21.
