How is the Welsh Government ensuring effective careers advice is provided across Wales for disabled school leavers?
The Welsh Government is committed to providing appropriate careers support to children and young people in Wales including those who are disabled. In Wales, Careers Wales delivers the national professional careers information, advice and guidance service for all ages. It offers a free, bilingual and impartial service, underpinned by access to careers guidance and coaching from professionally qualified careers advisers.
Careers Wales helps young people and adults to plan their career, prepare to get a job, and find and apply for the right apprenticeships, courses, training and employment. It delivers services to young people in a variety of methods including face to face careers guidance to help explore career ideas and options, group work, employer engagement events and activities and through a range of digital channels such as webchat, telephone and via the website.
Careers Wales operate in schools to provide advice and guidance and for those who have already left school we have established Working Wales as the free advice and guidance service on how to access training, get into work or further their career. Ongoing individual careers advice is available to all young people via Working Wales under the Young Person's Guarantee – a commitment to provide young people aged between 16 – 24 in Wales with an offer of support to gain a place in education or training, find a job or become self- employed.
As part of its support to young people to make positive transitions, customers with additional learning needs (ALN) and/ or disabled customers are supported by experienced specialist ALN Advisers. This support starts early on in their school career and often involves support from parents and other professionals. The support offered in schools is usually carried over into further or higher education or training by the same adviser so that the service is seamless and so that appropriate documentation can be completed to support school leavers.
Careers Wales also have a dedicated section on their website, ‘My Future’, for disabled young people. The resources offered support young people to think about what they'd like to do in the future by exploring their interests, to help them to understand the skills they have. Young people can watch a video of a Careers Adviser speaking about the different options open to them when they reach 16.