Each year, thousands of young people leave the care system and are expected to navigate adulthood largely on their own. For many, this transition comes with a stark reality: limited networks, patchy support, and a labor market that can be unforgiving even to the most well-connected. In London, where possibility and inequality sit side by side, the gap between what care leavers need and what they receive remains especially acute.
“Helping care leavers access employment, education or training” is part of the London-wide effort to close that gap. Led through london.gov.uk,the initiative recognises that a stable job,college place or training route is not just a milestone for care-experienced young people-it is indeed frequently enough the difference between security and long-term hardship. This article explores how the program works, the barriers it is indeed designed to overcome, and what it reveals about the capital’s broader obligation to those who have grown up in state care.
Understanding the barriers facing care leavers in London’s job and skills market
Leaving care in London often means stepping into adulthood without the safety net many peers take for granted. Young people face a complex mix of financial, emotional and structural obstacles that can make securing a job, apprenticeship or college place feel out of reach. High living costs push many into unstable housing or long commutes, while gaps in education and digital access can limit the roles they feel able to apply for. Employers may not understand what it means to have grown up in care, and unconscious bias can creep in when CVs show multiple placements, school moves or periods of inactivity.
On top of this, care leavers frequently navigate the system alone, without family networks to open doors or offer quiet help with applications, interview clothes or travel money. As an inevitable result, they can miss out on opportunities that rely on who you know rather than what you can do. Some of the most common barriers include:
- Unstable housing: Frequent moves disrupting work and study plans.
- Limited networks: Few personal contacts in professional or creative sectors.
- Gaps in education: Interrupted schooling leading to lower qualifications.
- Digital exclusion: No reliable access to laptops,software or broadband.
- Mental health pressures: Trauma, anxiety and low confidence affecting applications and interviews.
- System complexity: Confusing benefits rules and fragmented support services.
| Challenge | Typical Impact |
|---|---|
| High London costs | Turning down unpaid or low-paid training |
| No professional references | Applications filtered out at shortlisting |
| Care history stigma | Reluctance to disclose support needs |
| Short-term thinking | Taking any job over long-term progression |
Designing tailored pathways into apprenticeships, further education and vocational training
Creating realistic next steps for young people leaving care means moving beyond one-size-fits-all careers advice. Personalized planning starts with listening: understanding each young person’s strengths,interests,and any gaps in qualifications or confidence.From there, local authorities, colleges and employers can work together to map out step-by-step routes that feel achievable rather than overwhelming. These routes might include staggered entry into college, short accredited courses, or supported work tasters that gradually build stamina and skills. Crucially, plans are reviewed regularly so that a change in circumstances-housing, health or caring responsibilities-does not derail progress, but rather prompts a flexible adjustment of goals and support.
High-quality pathways blend learning and earning, opening doors to apprenticeships, vocational programmes and further education that reflect London’s diverse economy.Care leavers benefit when providers commit to:
- Ring‑fenced apprenticeship places with tailored pastoral and academic support.
- Bridging courses that prepare for Level 2 and 3 study in key sectors.
- On-the-job mentoring from trained staff who understand care experience.
- Flexible timetables that work alongside housing or health appointments.
- Clear financial guidance on bursaries, travel cards and hardship funds.
| Pathway Option | Typical Duration | Key Support Offered |
|---|---|---|
| Pre‑apprenticeship programme | 8-12 weeks | CV workshops, interview practice |
| Level 2 vocational course | 1 academic year | Study skills, attendance coaching |
| Sector‑based apprenticeship | 12-24 months | Dedicated mentor, progress reviews |
| Supported internship | 6-12 months | Job coach, workplace adjustments |
Partnering with employers to create inclusive recruitment, mentoring and progression opportunities
Across the capital, employers are working with us to redesign the way they recruit, support and promote young people who have been in care. By stripping jargon from job adverts, offering guaranteed interviews to applicants who meet the minimum criteria, and recognising lived experience in place of traditional networks, businesses can open doors that were previously closed. Many are pairing entry-level roles with structured pre-employment training, flexible scheduling and trauma-informed HR practices so that care-experienced candidates can not only secure work, but sustain it over the long term.
- Tailored internships that pay the London Living Wage
- Peer and professional mentoring from day one
- Progression plans mapped out within the first six months
- Line manager training on supporting care-experienced staff
- Regular check-ins with HR and external support services
| Support Offer | Purpose | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace mentoring | Build confidence and networks | 6-12 months |
| Supported apprenticeships | Earn while gaining a qualification | 1-2 years |
| Step-up programmes | Prepare for supervisory roles | 3-6 months |
These partnerships are evolving beyond one-off schemes into long-term pipelines that link local authorities, colleges, training providers and businesses.Employers are co-designing mentoring circles, reverse mentoring with senior leaders, and targeted progression routes into skilled roles, from digital and green jobs to frontline public services. By embedding clear benchmarks – such as promotion targets for care-experienced staff and ringfenced training budgets – organisations demonstrate that opportunity does not end with a first job offer, but grows into a sustained career pathway.
Measuring impact and improving support through data, lived experience and long term funding
When young people leave care, fragmented data can hide the real story of what happens next. By bringing together information from local authorities, colleges, employers and community partners, London can track who is thriving in work, training or higher education – and who is being left behind. This means not only counting outcomes, but understanding them: which interventions move the dial, which barriers persist, and where support breaks down. Crucially, quantitative data is read alongside lived experience – structured interviews, peer-led research and youth advisory boards – so policies reflect what care leavers say they actually need, not what services assume they need.
Long-term, predictable funding allows projects to adapt in response to this evidence rather than chasing short-term targets. Programmes can refine mentoring models, redesign recruitment pathways and expand trauma-informed careers support, confident they will still be here in five years’ time. This stability encourages co-design with care leavers, who can definitely help shape and test new ideas rather of being consulted at the margins. In practice, effective support often blends:
- Data dashboards that highlight gaps in participation and progression.
- Peer researchers with care experience, paid to gather and interpret insights.
- Multi-year grants that protect critical relationships with trusted adults.
- Feedback loops where findings directly change practice and commissioning.
| Focus Area | What Is Measured | Impact on Care Leavers |
|---|---|---|
| Education | Course completion, progression | More sustained college and university places |
| Employment | Job quality, length of stay | Better pay, reduced churn in entry-level roles |
| Support | Mentor contact, satisfaction | Stronger networks, higher confidence and stability |
In Retrospect
As London works to close the gap between care leavers and their peers, the challenge is no longer about proving that tailored support is needed, but about delivering it consistently and at scale. The initiatives emerging across the capital – from specialist advisers to targeted employment schemes and guaranteed offers in further and higher education – show what’s possible when policy, practice and lived experience begin to align.Yet the numbers of young people not in education, employment or training remain a stark reminder that progress is uneven. For every success story, there are still care leavers navigating complex systems largely on their own, frequently enough without the financial safety net, networks or stable housing that others can take for granted.
The work now is less about pilot projects and more about permanence: embedding entitlement into local authority practice, securing long-term funding, and making employers and education providers accountable for inclusive routes into opportunity. London’s ambition is clear – that leaving care should mark the start of a supported transition into adult life, not a cliff edge.
Whether that ambition is realised will depend on how far public bodies, institutions and businesses are prepared to treat care-experienced young people not as an afterthought, but as a test of how fair the city truly is.
