Help with getting ready for work
As your corporate parent, we can support you on your pathway to employment. We want to help you feel confident, ready for work, and supported into your next steps.
We can help you get work‑ready and find work by offering opportunities to work with us, as your “family firm”.
We can help you by:
- Giving you advice and support to talk through your different options
- Arranging work experience with Somerset Council
- Helping to find work placements with local businesses, including some of our partners such as Exmoor National Park, Viridor and Skanska
- Supporting you to build your skills and confidence for work
- Offering work experience opportunities through the Council as your family firm
- Helping you get to know your local Jobcentre and what support they can offer
- Arranging short “taster” work experiences
- Helping with some costs, such as travel to an interview or basic equipment you may need to get started, in certain situations
As your corporate parents, we are here to support you directly with your pathway to employment. Working with us as your family firm is one of the ways we can help you move forward with confidence.
Pathway to Employment support
Our Bespoke Programmes offer different opportunities with extra support from Personal Advisers and other key workers. If you want to build your confidence, learn life skills and develop work skills, this is a great place to start.
Ask your Personal Adviser to contact the Pathways to Employment team and share your interests and goals, so we can help find the right support for you.
Work experience
Work experience can be in many different settings. This might include office work, highways or social care with Somerset Council.
If that is not the kind of work you want to do, we also work with lots of partner organisations, including Exmoor National Park, Skanska, Viridor and Tesco, as well as other local businesses. We can help arrange a placement that suits you.
Work experience placements are unpaid and usually last between 1 and 6 weeks. They can be full‑time or part‑time, depending on what works best for you.
Training
Training covers a wide range of options. This includes traineeships, where you can build work skills and work towards qualifications like Maths and English, right through to college, university and degree courses.
We can give you advice and guidance to help you move towards the career you want. We also work closely with colleges, universities and training providers so they understand the support you need to stay on track.
Employment
Employment is the final step on the Pathway to Employment, but you should never feel rushed or pressured if you are not ready yet. Sometimes it is okay to take a step back before moving forward again.
Whether you want to start an apprenticeship or go straight into work, we can help you:
- Write a CV or job application
- Prepare for and do well in interviews
Care leavers and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are guaranteed an interview for any Somerset Council apprenticeship.
The Pathways to Employment team may not always be able to offer everything directly. If that happens, we will help you find the right service or organisation to support you.
You do not have to do this alone – we are here to help you find your way forward.
Support if you have SEND
If you have special educational needs or a disability (SEND), we can support you with your pathway to employment.
If you are under 25 and feel you need extra help with education or training because of SEND, but you do not have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or a statement, you can ask for extra support. You can do this by requesting an Early Help Assessment (EHA). Phone Somerset Direct on 0300 123 2224 to ask for one.
Supported internships
We can also help you apply for a Supported Internship. A supported internship is a study programme for young people aged 16 to 24 who:
- Have SEND, and
- Have a statement of special educational needs, a Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA), or an EHCP, and
- Want to move into work but need extra support to do so
Supported internships help you build work skills and confidence, with the right support in place to help you succeed.
You can find out more about supported internships for young people with SEND, an LDA or who have an EHCP.