Sefton Council Guarantees Job Interviews for Care Experienced Youth

Young people who have been in care will be guaranteed an interview if they apply for a job at Sefton Council.

The ‘guaranteed interview scheme’ is part of the authority’s commitment as a corporate parent to help people with care experience into adulthood.

The scheme is live to applicants applying for non-school vacancies in the Council from this week.  

Cllr Mhairi Doyle, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care said:

“I am so proud of the Council for taking this bold step and putting care experienced people at the heart of our employment policies.

“Too often, care experienced people face discrimination in the jobs market and have worse outcomes than their peers; we want to make Sefton Council a place where people with care experience feel welcomed and valued for their unique perspective and diverse skillset that would be an asset to any company.

Under the new scheme, any care experienced applicant meeting the essential criteria for the job will be able to input their details of being care experienced into the application system and will be guaranteed an interview so as to enhance opportunities for care experienced people who often face disadvantage in the jobs market.

This is the latest initiative in a line of projects aimed at better supporting care experienced people in education and employment.

“A key part of being a corporate parent is supporting young people into whatever career they choose, just as any parent would do for their child and this scheme makes a clear statement that people with care experienced are welcomed and valued in Sefton,” added Cllr Doyle.

Following a declaration of ‘care experienced’ as a protected characteristic in Sefton in January 2023, the Council has made efforts to enhance opportunities for this cohort and ensure fair access to many areas of education and employment.

This has included opportunities from the Caring Business Charter which brings together local businesses to offer taster days, work experience and employment opportunities to cared for and care experienced young people as well as the Sefton Partnership Agreement from the Virtual School which brings together further education colleges from across Merseyside to better support this cohort of young people into education.