Support for 16 to 24-year-olds

Post-16 careers advice

There are a wide range of options for education, training or employment and it can be complicated to think about the best one for you.

Our Young People’s Service (YPS) is a dedicated expert support service to help you think about your own choices and next steps for education, employment or training. You can be allocated a worker from the YPS team who can visit you regularly and help you make the applications needed.

YPS also has a dedicated worker specifically for employment who is continually making new connections in the community with employers to find opportunities.

If you don’t have a YPS worker and would like one, please do speak to your Personal Advisor.

Post-18 if you register for Universal Credit, you will have a dedicated work coach; they have a role to help you think through what you’re looking for in terms of next steps in your career.

The Skills and Employment Hub, based at The Portal in Ellesmere Port, offers many varied opportunities to help you into employment. There are particular schemes to help you if you face barriers such as learning difficulties or mental health challenges. There are also specific courses aimed at helping you into work if your confidence is low or if you have been out of education for a little while.

The King’s Trust is a great opportunity to go on a 12-week programme to build confidence and gain links into employment. It is full-time and you can’t do it during an academic year when you’ve already been signed up to college, but otherwise this is a great stepping stone for many. Please speak to your PA for more information.

Virtual School

Further details of the Virtual School can be found on the Cheshire West Virtual School website.

The Post-16 Pupil Premium funding doesn’t have an upper age limit, so do consider this. It can be used for things such as short, accredited courses or for short-term booster tuition to help you pass your English or Maths Level 1 qualifications at college. It is at the discretion of the Virtual School Head Teacher.

The Virtual School will support with advice post-18, as well as pre-18. You can contact our Post-16 Coordinator by email at Jennifer.Lomas@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.

The coordinator can provide support for UCAS applications and directing you to Care Leaver support at university.

When you complete A-levels, a Level 3 course, or university degree, the Virtual School will give you a voucher as part of our celebration of your achievement.

The Virtual School is also able to support work experience within the Council in different areas of work.

PEP (Personal Education Plan)

If you remain in education post-18, you can choose to continue to have review meetings of your education and support, called PEPs.

Getting ahead

We have developed a mentoring scheme called Triumph Together. In this scheme, you could have a mentor with similar career and business interests to yourself, someone who starts getting to know you while you are still at school or college, helping you to develop skills think about how you can improve your CV and potentially give work experience opportunities. If you want to get involved in this scheme or would like a mentor, please speak to your Personal Adviser.

Care Leaver Covenant

Within the government’s document, Keep on Caring, a key commitment was the 'Care Leaver Covenant' to which private, public, and voluntary sectors would pledge to provide support for Care Leavers aged 16 to 25 to help them live independently.  

This has been developed over several years and there are hundreds of opportunities and resources available to Care Leavers from across the country listed on the My Covenant website.

Financial support

If you live within Cheshire West and Chester, we will be able to organise a free bus pass for you, provided there aren’t any safeguarding worries about you having one. You can ask your PA for further information.

The CiCC Trust Fund is also available, to which you can apply for up to £400 every 12 months for practical support. Speak to your PA for more information.

For those who live or go to school in Chester, there are funds available from The Development of the Youth of Chester. The trustees for this charity meet twice a year to make awards.