Careers advice for lovely young man

[262629D]

A 24yr old friend of my sons is really struggling. He has a degree in Health & Social Care but is finding it really difficult to get on a career ladder. He currently works in hospitality but doesn’t enjoy it & has little other prospects locally. He suffers from low confidence & anxiety but is a thoughtful, respectful boy with little parental support/interest. Any ideas of what he could do? I have no idea re Health & Social Care so any help gratefully received. D

Work in a care home? Become a social worker? Those are very obvious paths for someone with an H&SC degree, and they are very short staffed so he should have no trouble getting a job. If you tell us what area it is I'm sure there will be adverts he could apply to.

Masters or Post Grad diploma in social work. We are crying out for social workers!

There are hundreds of different jobs within the NHS it would be worth him looking at their careers website: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/career-planning/resources/350-careers-one-nhs-your-future-print-ready-pdf

Hi, Thank you so much for all your responses. It’s greatly appreciated. Social work would be an absolute ideal fit but he can’t afford to continue in full time education for another couple of years. He lives in Cornwall so is finding it really hard to source anything locally with a clear pathway. There are carer vacancies but they are generally not well paid & he cannot see much progression where he lives. Ideally if he could find a job in the NHS which supported him whilst he studied for a Post Grad diploma that would be perfect. He would also be prepared to move if that was something that was at all possible. He is a lovely chap and knows that he has to work hard and cannot expect to be paid a high salary whilst training but it’s not easy for young people with little family support. Thanks again

Maybe just start work in the nhs. Even lower band positions like a ward clerk would be a foot in the door. He could then use the hospitals trust careers guidance once he's in the door so to speak.

@262629D "There are carer vacancies but they are generally not well paid & he cannot see much progression where he lives"

He needs to take what he can get and use it to build his CV no matter how poorly paid it is. It will at least be minimum wage, which is reasonable. There are casual (aka "bank staff") carer jobs that he can fit around his studies. It would be good experience for someone wanting to be a social worker and help to demonstrate his willingness and aptitude to "care".

Can he drive? Does he have a car?

Based on what you’ve said about his qualifications etc employers are unlikely to fund costly postgraduate training for him.

He could look into entry points for jobs that might appeal/be possible with his qualifications in health / social care, and try applying for one of those ways, which may mean saving to move locations and applying in a wide area. In the meantime, depending on the entry requirements care work might well be better for his CV than hospitality.

I’d recommend booking him an appointment to see careers adviser with the national careers service. It’s free

@262629D there is an apprenticeship scheme for social work, but he needs to look at the pre-requisites and build his CV to meet them: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/work-in-adults-or-childrens-social-care/make-a-difference-children-s-social-work-in-cornwall/

The first prerequisite is "Be working directly with children and their families, either as a practitioner or as a first line manager".

This demonstrates why he should be aiming for more relevant work experience.

Has he considered working in a school or nursery? Schools are usually crying out for pastoral staff. I'm a school governor at a secondary school and we particularly struggle to recruit male pastoral staff. He could look at roles like Learning Support Assistant, Learning Mentor, Pastoral Assistant, Inclusion Officer, Attendance Officer. Usually the only pre-requisite is aptitude for working with children and basic awareness of Safeguarding (enough to get through the interview, after which they will receive statutory Safeguarding training).

If he had a good relationship with his own secondary school then that would be a good starting point - ime schools do like to take on trusted alumni.

There are carer vacancies but they are generally not well paid & he cannot see much progression where he lives.

I can’t see any more progression in hospitality nor are the wages going to be any better. If he wants to work in health and social care, he needs to get a job in that sector then other opportunities will open themselves up to him.

https://uk.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=4e0d2a1bef310c92&from=serp&mclk=default&xpse=SoDi67I3xEVx0XyKbR0LbzkdCdPP&xfps=0b02517e-e4be-44bb-8ae2-bed13a34cad1&xkcb=SoA_67M3xEVyjHRurR0KbzkdCdPP

https://uk.indeed.com/cmp/Coastline-Housing-Limited/jobs?jk=72b7c816b65c3677&start=0

https://www.tes.com/jobs/vacancy/learning-support-assistant-cornwall-2214162

A brief search but a few different things came up from this that might be suitable

Maybe look at Public Health England and entry level jobs, pharmaceuticals, safeguarding roles,
local council roles, Local Authority jobs, care management ….

He should look at the OU. You can study for social work while you are in employment.

I'd recommend that he speak to a few people who are in the sort of careers that he would like to aim for; they would be able to advise him on pathways, skillsets, first steps into the career, perhaps connect him to useful people, or simply round out his view by telling him their own stories. Would you be able to help him make connections in this way and set up a few informational interviews, even very informally?

Train as a healthcare assistant, or in a pharmacy as dispensing assistant (and then progress from there?).

If social work is his ideal career then he needs to do roles that will support progression to that role - either through a funded place such as @vinoclocksuggested, or doing it off his own back - and financial support is available in the form of loans and grants.

Why hasn’t he just googled this though?