Planning for employment
Your route to employment
If you have no idea what job you want to do or you know exactly what you want to do, but need some help, this is an exciting step to take and we are here to support you.
Applying for a job is exciting. Your personal advisor (PA), social worker, foster carer, keyworker, school, college and work coach will be able to talk to you about what work you may like to do and how they can support you to achieve this.
Pathway plan
From the age of 16, your pathway plan will capture what you would like to do for a job in the future, what route you need to take to achieve this and who will support you.
When you are under 18, your social worker will complete the pathway plan with you. When you are over 18, your PA will do this. This plan is reviewed at least every 6 months to ensure you are on track and receiving the right support.
Careers advice
Youth Hubs Pre-Careers Advice Service
If you do not feel ready for careers advice, but want to know more about possibly getting a job in the future, speak to your PA or work coach.
Work coaches can refer you to a local youth hub for pre-work training, support and advice. This service is available to help you take the first steps on your journey to future employment.
Careers advisor
Your PA can support you to get in touch with West Sussex Careers team or job centre work coaches in your area.
These services will be able to help you think about what sort of jobs might be right for you and provide you with advice, coaching and support needed to secure a job.
Careers advisors and work coaches can match your skills and interests to career pathways and help you plan the steps to getting a job. Your PA can support and encourage you with these steps.
See your careers advisor and work coach as someone who is teaching you how to drive a car, your PA or social worker is sat in the back seat encouraging and supporting you.
The support they can offer includes:
- finding out more for you about the career you are interested in
- qualifications and experience needed for different jobs
- writing a CV and covering letters
- looking at work experience, career tasters or volunteering opportunities
- provide information on traineeships and apprenticeships
- help preparing for an interview
Every job centre currently has a youth employment coach who specialises in supporting those who are under 25 and may be struggling to overcome barriers to seeking employment.
You also have available a single point of contact for care leavers.
Specialist advice
Getting support is great, the more people that can help you achieve your goal the better.
Dependent on the job you’re looking for you may need some additional support. You have to consider two things
- what job you want and how to get it
- how to write a CV and cover letter for that specific role
To explain this, if you think about an astronaut, a chef and a taxi driver, they are all very different jobs and require specialist knowledge. No one person will know everything about how to get these jobs. You can talk to your PA, work coach, careers advisor to seek further advice.
Getting specialist advice
To get specialist advice you can contact companies that you would like to work for and speak to their Human Resource (HR) department. Ask them what specific experience you need and if they know of any opportunities. You could also ask if they will read your CV and cover letter and give you feedback.
A great organisation for also supporting you with CVs and cover letters is Youth Employment UK.
Preparing for employment
Ensure you have the essentials to search and apply for jobs. work coaches, careers advisors, PAs, keyworkers, social workers and foster carers can help you to ensure you have all the essentials ready before applying for a job and support you to search for jobs.
Getting the essentials together is important before you can start looking for and applying for jobs.
The things you need are:
- curriculum vitae (CV)
- identification
- bank account
- National Insurance number
CV
A CV is a Latin phrase that means ‘course of life’ and most employers want these if you are applying for a job. They explain who you are, what your experiences are and any qualifications you have.
A good structure for a CV is:
- full name
- contact details: address, telephone, email
- personal statement
- key skills
- education: where you’ve studied, for how long, and what grades you got - if you haven’t got any results yet, you can put what grades you’ve been predicted
- work experience
- hobbies and interests
You can get more help to write a CV by visiting Youth Employment UK, speaking to your careers advisor and work coach.
There is a very useful guide from Youth Employment UK to writing your first CV.
Identification
It’s important to have some form of identification, this is so that you can prove who you are.
Employers will need to see these before they can give you a job. The forms of identification you should have are:
- birth certificate
- passport
- provisional driving licence
- biometric residency permit (BRP) for asylum seekers
We will help you get all of these and pay for it too. See our Allowances and assistance for care leavers page.
These are all important documents you will need to keep in a safe place.
Bank account
Once you have a form of identification, if you do not have a bank account, you will need to open one. This is so your future employer can have your bank details to pay you.
If you do not have a bank account, your social worker or PA can help you with this.
National Insurance (NI) number
Your NI number is unique to you. You keep the same one all your life. It makes sure that the National Insurance contributions and tax you pay are properly recorded against your name.
It also acts as a reference number when communicating with the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Speak to your PA if you do not have a NI number and they can either explain why or support you to receive this.
Applying for an NI number
You must be 15 years and 9 months old to apply for an NI number.
See GOV.UK to fond out how your social worker can apply for an NI number for you.
You can also apply for a National Insurance Number by yourself.
It’s a really easy process. For UK citizens, you will need your passport to apply. For non-UK citizens you will need your Biometric Residency Permit (BRP).
See GOV.UK to apply for your NI number online.