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Luton Borough Council

Education, training and employment

This is what you need to know about our responsibilities, regarding your education, apprenticeships, training and employment.

Education

  • You'll be allocated an educational personal adviser from the Virtual School to help you access education, training or employment.
  • If you go to university and you have to pay rent, we'll contribute £100 per week towards this, including holiday periods. Speak to your personal adviser to see if you're eligible.
  • We'll give you a £2,000 bursary if you are in higher education.
  • We expect you to claim benefits if you are eligible. We'll include these benefits in any calculation we make for additional financial support.
  • You're expected to apply for a student loan, as any other young person would.
  • You can find more general advice on being a student on The Student Room website

We may assist you in identifying financial support and resources to enable you to undertake post-graduate study.

Training and apprenticeships

  • We'll be able to contribute to some of your living expenses and apprenticeship related expenses whilst you are training.
  • We'll support you to find out what apprenticeships there are in your area and help you apply for them.
  • We will still expect you to claim benefits if your income is low. We'll include these benefits in any calculation we make for additional financial support.
  • From August 2018 care leavers will be boosted by a new £1,000 bursary payment if they choose to do an apprenticeship. For more information click the link below or speak to your personal adviser.

Employment

We may consider providing you with support by:

  • buying the items you need directly
  • in exceptional circumstances, giving you cash that will help your ability to access employment opportunities - for example getting to interviews and, if needed, interview clothing
  • signposting you to other agencies who may be able to support you financially

Your personal adviser will support you to understand different ways to look for employment and help you complete your CV and application.

Applications for Luton Council jobs within pay ranges L1a-L3, care leavers will be guaranteed an interview for the job if they wish to declare themselves a care leaver and they meet the essential criteria for the role.

Luton Council Passport to Employment programme

To support the Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) available to our care leavers, Luton Adult Learning are able to provide employment skills support via the Passport to Employment programme. The programme has already proven to be effective in helping care leavers prepare for and perform at interview.

This ‘wrap-around’ service means that unsuccessful applicants can review their performance based on feedback and experience, helping them to become stronger candidates for future opportunities. Please encourage any care leaver who is actively looking for employment and skills opportunities to take up their free place on Passport to Employment. Courses run throughout the year. Contact the programme lead at Luton Adult Learning to book places. The contact details: Tel: 01582 548541, website: Adult learning.

Preparation for adulthood workshops

We are planning to hold workshops in the near future. Please speak to your Personal Advisor for more info.

Further information

To get more information about education, training and apprenticeships, employment and your entitlements, contact your personal adviser.

If you’re not sure what your status is, you can contact or text your personal adviser and they’ll confirm it.

Information, advice and guidance from personal adviser

Key

  • IAG: information, advice and guidance
  • NEET: not in education, employment, or training
  • LAC: looked after child
  • YOT: youth offending team
  • IAG roles - virtual school personal adviser

This is how we support young people who are allocated on our case load and who are NEET.

IAG is available to all LAC aged 16 and over, and we have a direct link with social worker cases in the 16+ team and 18+ team.

We will:

  • offer intensive one to one support to help move young person from NEET to Education , employment or training
  • offer IAG to young people on education, employment and training pathways
  • support young people to apply for college and training, make applications and follow up support for Interviews to secure place
  • support young people to seek work and apply for training opportunities such as apprenticeships and study programme and other PDO’s such as Princes Trust
  • support young people to look for work, create CV and help apply for jobs
  • offer advice and support on interview skills and to try and secure work
  • support young people to look at all options available to them when they are NEET to try and
  • encourage young people to gain skills through volunteering, work placements
  • liaise with multi agencies to support young people when they are NEET, YOT, social services, semi independent placement or foster carers
  • liaise with college and training providers
  • monitor progress and try and prevent young people becoming NEET
  • attend post 16 PEP’S to ensure support is in place and young person is supported in education setting to help achieve qualification
  • attend LAC reviews where appropriate
  • involvement with EHC plan – attending reviews and education meetings
  • taking young person to open days and interviews
  • attending GP appointments with young person
  • travel out of county to support young people and offer IAG
  • link with other organisations to support young person
© 2024 Luton Council, Town Hall, Luton LU1 2BQ