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Help finding jobs, apprenticeships and work experience 

It can be hard knowing where to look for jobs, apprenticeships and work experience. Here are some resources and signposting links to help.

Useful places to explore careers (including apprenticeships)

Places to look for jobs:

  • The Care Leaver Covenant: a database of opportunities created specifically for care-experienced young people aged 16-25. You can filter the offers by ‘type’ and select ‘work and jobs’. You can also sign-up for ‘Connects’ to get email updates with new opportunities. 
  • Total Jobs
  • Guardian Jobs 
  • Reed
  • Monster
  • Glassdoor
  • Indeed 
  • CV Library 
  • Milkround: graduate jobs, internships and degree apprenticeships
  • Not Going To Uni: apprenticeships, school leaver jobs and training schemes
  • Jobs.ac.uk: graduate jobs, PhDs and career advice
  • RateMyPlacement: work experience and internships for students
  • Changemaker Jobs: charity sector job vacancies
  • NHS Jobs: jobs in the National Health Service (the NHS have committed to supporting care leavers into roles through their Universal Family programme)
  • Civil Service Jobs: jobs in the Civil Service and central government organisations. The Civil Service also offer a paid internship for care leavers aged 18-30
  • If you’re currently unemployed, your local jobcentre plus can help you look for work
  • On your local authority’s website, for example, Jobs and careers with Coventry City Council. All local authorities have targets to get local people into local jobs, so it’s always worth checking what opportunities yours has an offer. Your local authority may also offer 1:1 job-finding support for young people who are not in education, employment or training 
  • On social media sites like Linkedin, by selecting the ‘jobs’ tab in your account 
  • A specific employer’s website, usually under ‘careers’, ‘jobs’ or ‘vacancies’, for example, Become posts jobs that we’re hiring for here, under ‘jobs

Places to look for work experience:

  • You can approach any employer to ask about work experience, even if they’re not advertising it. You can ask someone in person at a local business or call/email an organisation you find online, using their public contact information. Make sure they are a trustworthy, legitimate business that will support you properly and ask as far in advance as possible, so that the employer has time to organise the placement
  • The Care Leaver Covenant: a database of opportunities created specifically for care-experienced young people. You can filter the offers by ‘type’ and select ‘work and jobs’, to explore employers to contact about work experience
  • Springpod: free virtual work experience opportunities and university taster modules
  • Prospects: information, advice and opportunities
  • Milkround: internship opportunities
  • Lawyers Who Care: peer support, long-term mentoring and paid work experience for care-experienced young people interested in law careers
  • John Lewis ‘Building Happier Futures’ Programme: work experience for care experienced people in Waitrose and John Lewis shops (contact [email protected] to apply)

Places to look for apprenticeships, T levels and degree apprenticeships:

Apprenticeships training providers:

These organizations act like a recruitment agency for apprenticeships so can be a useful starting point to finding an apprenticeship. 

Other useful resources for learning about jobs and apprenticeships and creating a strong application:

If you have any questions or need support, please email Clancy via [email protected] or visit our support page.