Corporate Parenting
A number of months ago I had a conversation with someone from the advocacy service we have for looked after children and young people. I was told about a young man at college who was trying to get a work placement so that he could get a qualification, but who hadn't found one.
I promised to raise it with officers in the Environment Division, he wants to work in construction and I knew that some of them had experience of care and so might want to help out.
I was right, they did, and he is now doing the placement with the Council's Building Services team.
Yesterday I sat down with the careers adviser for the Leaving Care Service, senior officers from the Environment Division, the Head of Resources for Children and Young People and someone from the Human Relations side of the council to look at what we might do to build on that example.
We've sketched out a scheme which we'll pilot in the autumn which should offer 5 young people the chance to work with the Council in a range of roles, at a proper wage*. If this works out we'll look at whether it can be extended.
* These won't be "make-weight" jobs they should replace jobs that are currently being done by people supplied by employment agencies and the young people will have to work as hard as anyone else to keep the jobs.
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Cllr Andrew Brown
