Leaving care (Local Offer for Care Leavers)
Education, training and employment
We want to support you to succeed, and we know that this starts with helping you to feel confident to access education, training or employment.
There are different routes that you may prefer, depending on your individual goals and needs.
Support available
Job Club
This is a weekly drop-in held on a Tuesday morning at the MarketPlace. You can discuss options, and get help with applying for employment, education and training, and CV writing. It is run by Alex Simpson (Opportunities Broker) and we sometimes arrange guests who can also help you with education, training and your employment journey. Guests can be professionals such as Department for Work and Pension (DWP) workers, training providers, employment providers and university representatives. We welcome your ideas and views about who you would like to meet at the job club. Breakfast buns and a cuppa are also included!
Work placements and shadowing opportunities
We have a specialist role within the Leaving Care Team, known as the 'opportunities broker', who is dedicated to making stronger links with local employers and training providers. They will support you to access to work placements and shadowing opportunities. Our opportunities broker is called Alex Simpson and can be contacted on .
One-to-one support
One-to-one support is provided by the opportunities broker, and from your personal advisor. We can provide specialist tutoring and mentoring support to help you develop your skills and confidence to enter the job market or access your training goals. We have a specialist tutor and mentor, Jasmine Burns who provides small group training in an environment comfortable to you. Jasmine can work alongside your personal advisor or our opportunities broker if you would like them too and support you to access the "routeway to employment" course.
Sessional work opportunities
If you have received a leaving care service, you could become a care experienced sessional worker at the Council. This provides a range of opportunities for paid work.
Links with employers
We have links with external organisations to help support you into employment opportunities by taking short training courses. Our links with South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust offer routes to work as healthcare assistants, porters, catering assistants, cleaners and more. We also work with Barnardos to support with warehouse assistant jobs at Amazon. If you are interested in exploring these opportunities, speak to your PA or contact Alex directly.
Career Coach
On the Career Coach website you can complete a careers assessment which matches careers to your interests, skills and personality. See .
Employability Routeway
We have a specialist Youth Employment Tutor and Mentor (Jasmine Burns), who is running regular employability study programmes that will provide you with tailored move on options to get you ready for employment. The programme covers confidence-building, teamwork, job applications, CVs, and more. Lunch is provided every day at The Word café, located in between South Tyneside Works and the Marketplace. Contact Jasmine via jasmine.burns@southtyneside.gov.uk or your personal advisor (PA) for more information. The date for the next programme will is to be confirmed.
Work experience
We have links with teams around the Council who can offer work experience placement opportunities. This can help you develop new skills, gain experience and learn what it is like to be in the workplace. If you are interested in exploring work experience opportunities within Â鶹ÊÓƵ, speak to your PA or contact Alex.
Financial support
There is a range of financial support to help you with education, training and employment.
See .