Opportunities and employment pathways.
Care experienced young people between the ages of 16 and 20 are four times more likely to be unemployed than their peers. We know how important it is to expand the horizons of our young people and support them to achieve their potential to challenge this statistic.
Break are working to create safe environments with the appropriate level of support to enable the young people we support to explore, try, build skills, have great experiences, test ideas and experiment. We are focused on increasing the participation of our young people in all aspects of our work, raising aspirations and helping them find their spark and bridge the gap between themselves and potential employment.
Young people who grow up in care have often had big life changes happen to them with very little say in the process. Break really value young people’s views, recognise that they are the experts in their own lives, and that our services will only be as good as they can be when staff and young people work together.
Participation means that we actively seek out, listen to and take into account young people’s views and opinions. Co-production is about recognising that we all have skills, knowledge and experiences to bring, and to share power equally when we plan and deliver support.
When adults and young people work together we can create services that meet the needs of our young people, where staff develop skills and gain a deeper understanding of who they support and where we have effective services with the best people working in them.
Participation & co-production
When young people have a voice and are involved in the decision making it can increase confidence and self-esteem, and encourage them to become active citizens in their own communities as they become adults.
Group activities and residencies
Break believe that by raising the aspirations of the children and young people we support in a safe and non-judgemental environment, we can help them widen their horizons and foresee a positive future.
Building Futures
Helping to build young people's knowledge and give them the skills that are needed to work in the construction industry. The aim of the project is to increase young people’s aspirations, motivation and their employability.
CoffeeBreak
In November 2019 the CoffeeBreak project was born and since then has been working to provide opportunities for our young people to discover their spark and develop some of the key skills that any employer is looking for.
