Young people in care face employment disadvantage in London

Care-experienced young people are individuals who have been or are currently in care.  More than one in three care-experienced Londoners within the crucial age range of 19 to 21 are not in education, employment or training. This puts care-experienced Londoners at a disadvantage in their careers.

Employers sometimes have negative perceptions of care experience. However, care experience brings with it a unique set of skills that can add value to any workplace. This has been demonstrated by several London employers who have taken steps to actively recruit and support care-experienced young people.

The London Assembly Economy, Culture and Skills Committee has today published its report – Careers after care: helping care-experienced young Londoners fulfil their potential ­– highlighting the difficulties care-experienced young people face when seeking employment, training or education.

The Committee is calling for a more joined-up approach to help care-experienced young people find employment, training or education opportunities in the capital.

Key recommendations in the report include:

• During this Mayoral term, the Mayor should use the Pan-London Care Leaver Compact to create a platform where all London boroughs can share employment or training opportunities arranged with local employers, making them accessible to all care-experienced Londoners.
• In 2025/26, the Mayor should instruct TfL to provide free advertising space on the TfL network for local authorities to run advertisements to recruit foster carers. 
• The Mayor should incorporate his mentorship scheme into the Pan-London Care Leaver compact as soon as possible to ensure it is part of a comprehensive support package aimed at care-experienced Londoners.
• The Mayor should convene public universities in London and work with them to create a basic support offer for student care leavers for all of London’s public universities.

Marina Ahmad AM, Chair of the London Assembly Economy, Culture and Skills Committee, said:

“Finding your way through life is challenging for us all, but none more-so than young care-experienced people, who often face incredibly difficult years growing up.

“Employment, education and training is essential to help people grow, yet we heard shocking statistics that show just how much of a challenge finding those opportunities is for care-experienced people.

“The experiences these young people face should not negatively impact their ability to better themselves, yet placements outside of their borough, lack of employment opportunities and a lack of available foster carers is a huge hurdle for them.

“Our recommendations come from the evidence we heard from young people, carers and employers, and if implemented, they could make a significant impact on the lives of these young people.

“We urge the Mayor to push on with his work in this area to ensure London has a more-diverse workforce that represents the challenges many young Londoners face.”

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