Why early careers engagement matters
Young people can’t choose careers they have never encountered.
Young people begin forming ideas about their future well before they start applying for jobs. By the time they are making GCSE choices, they may already have a strong sense of the careers they know about — and those they can imagine themselves pursuing.
Some professions are highly visible throughout childhood and education. Adult social care is not always one of them. Many young people have limited understanding of what the sector involves, the range of roles it offers or the skills and values that underpin the work.
That is why adult social care deserves a stronger place within careers education, alongside professions such as medicine, nursing, teaching and engineering.
Our aim is not to persuade every young person to work in social care. It is to make sure they know it is an option — early enough to explore it before important choices about their future are made.
What we offer: meaningful encounters with adult social care
Our sessions give young people an authentic introduction to adult social care as a skilled profession. They are interactive and values-led, designed to encourage curiosity, challenge assumptions and open up conversations about careers.
For schools: Year 8 and 9 assemblies
Our assemblies introduce students to adult social care, the people and skills involved, and the breadth of careers the sector offers. They give students the opportunity to ask questions, explore their perceptions and discover a profession they may not previously have considered.
We focus particularly on Years 8 and 9 because early careers awareness matters — before young people make important choices about their GCSE options.
For colleges: Interactive FE workshops
Our workshops give college students the opportunity to explore adult social care as a career and profession in greater depth. Sessions can be adapted to the setting and student group, with opportunities to explore skills, values, career possibilities and what working in the sector is really like.
What happens in a session?
Our sessions are designed to get young people thinking, talking and asking questions. Rather than simply telling students about careers in adult social care, we create space for them to explore what the profession really involves and consider whether it could be right for them.
Sessions are adapted to the age and setting, but are typically:
- Interactive – giving students opportunities to participate and contribute.
- Values-led – exploring the qualities, skills and values that underpin good care.
- Thought-provoking – challenging assumptions and broadening understanding of what adult social care can offer as a career.
The aim isn’t to persuade every young person to work in social care. It’s to make sure they know it’s an option.
Our reach so far
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Nearly 5,000
students reached
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1 in 3
Surrey secondary schools engaged
Through Year 8 and 9 assemblies and interactive FE workshops, the programme is bringing adult social care into careers conversations across Surrey. Developed as part of Surrey Care Association’s Local Care Talent Pipeline, it is building awareness of adult social care as a skilled profession and creating meaningful opportunities for young people to encounter careers they may not otherwise have considered.
Bringing the profession into the classroom
Young people benefit from hearing about careers from people who actually do the work. Employers can bring adult social care to life by sharing their experience and giving students a more authentic picture of what working in the sector is really like.
There are different ways employers can support the programme, from sharing professional insight and career stories to contributing to careers activities and helping us develop stronger links between education and the sector.
Employer involvement isn’t about delivering a recruitment pitch. It’s about helping young people understand the profession, the skills it involves and the opportunities it can offer.
Get involved
Whether you’re a school or college looking to bring the programme to your students, an employer interested in supporting careers engagement, or a stakeholder interested in the development of Surrey’s future adult social care workforce, we’d be pleased to hear from you.